In the Philippines, IPs have been subject to historical discrimination and marginalization from political processes and economic benefit. They often face exclusion, loss of ancestral lands, displacement, pressures to and destruction of traditional ways of life and practices, and loss of identity and culture.
Most of the IPs was unable to go to school and grew up with no formal school-based education and because of that there are tendencies for the parents not to encourage their children to go to school as well. The most important thing for a parent to do is to find food for their children. They would choose food over education. The parents together with their children will go up the mountain and find food for their family. Since the school is also far from their house some would choose to walk to the mountains to find food rather than to walk going to the school.
St. Bakhita Josephine Parish established a Kindergarten School to encourage the children to attend school, but still there are cases when some student will come to school in the morning and will not return after lunch break because others will still have to find food in the mountains. There are students who will attend the school on the month of June and will be absent for the whole month of July and some will return on January the following year.
