Manila, June 15 -- National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Chairperson Nancy Alaan Catamco and National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Lead Convenor Secretary Lope Santos III on Monday were designated as the body's new grassroots development and empowerment leaders, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said.

NTF-ELCAC executive director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. said their designation was formalized during the Sectoral Unification, Capacity Building, Empowerment, and Mobilization (SUCBEM) Cluster Meeting at the PSR Compound in Manila.

"By designating the NCIP and the NAPC to lead the SUCBEM Cluster, we are bringing the voices of indigenous peoples and the country's basic sectors dir...