THE Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR), home to only 1.65 percent of the national population, is by far the biggest employer of Filipinos belonging to Indigenous Cultural Communities, latest figures from the Civil Service Commission (CSC) showed.

As of June 30, 2024, government offices in CAR have 23,536 Indigenous People (IP) workers, or 55.31 percent of the national total – more than all the other regions combined.

The data posted on CSC’s official website shows 42,554 IPs holding career or non-career positions in the government, divided into 25,360 (59.63 percent) females and 17,194 (40.3 percent) males. Out of these numbers, the CAR accounted 15,122 females and 8,414 males.

A distant second spot went to Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) with 3,468 workers belonging to IPs (8.15 percent).

The rest of the regions showed Region 11 (Davao Region) has 3,320 IP workers; Region 1 (Ilocos Region) 2,178; Region 12 (Soccsksargen) 2,087; National Capital Region (Metro Manila) 1,573; Region 10 (Northern Mindanao) 1,421; Region 4 (Calabarzon and Mimaropa) 1,029; Caraga 988; Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) 897; Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) 807; Region 6 (Western Visayas) 620; Region 3 (Central Luzon) 500; Region 5 (Bicol Region) 71; Region 7 (Central Visayas) 58; and Region 8 (Eastern Visayas) 1.

In all regions except BARMM, Davao Region, and Calabarzon/Mimaropa, female IP workers outnumbered males.

In the last five years, the yearly Inventory of Government Human Resources (IGHR) showed the number of career and non-career workers grew from 1.76 million in 2020 to 2.04 million as of June 30, 2024.

However, the headcount of IPs in the government workforce has hardly moved over the same period from 42,368 five years ago to 42,554 as of the first half of the current year.