THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) recently signed an agreement to strengthen their cooperation in the utilization of the ancestral domains and lands to become economic zones.

In a statement on Monday, PEZA said that under the agreement which was signed on June 3, PEZA Director General Charito Plaza and NCIP Chairman Allen Capuyan agreed to strengthen cooperation in the identification, creation, development, implementation and operation of ancestral domains as special economic zones for the greater good of Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) and Indigenous Peoples (IPs).