20 Years of Cordillera Day
A Historic Testament to the Resolute Cordillera Peoples’ Struggle http://www.bulatlat.com/news/4-12/4-12-cordillera2.html The history of Cordillera Day is the history of a vibrant peoples’ struggle for a just society. It is an annual observance of achievements, where weaknesses are recognized and lessons are learned. It is also an annual event for renewing the commitment and ideals pursued by Cordillera’s heroes and martyrs. BY WINDEL BOLINGET Contributed to Bulatlat.com
Part I: A Mirror of Cordillera History and Politics This year’s Cordillera Day observance completes a two‐decade celebration and marks the 24th death anniversary of Macliing Dulag, a tribal chieftain and protest leader felled by Marcos soldiers. For 20 years, the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) spearheaded the annual celebration, despite the difficult years the Cordillera peoples’ movement has gone through. Government forces have, time and again, harassed and tried to derail the people’s Cordillera Day. There were also attempts to lure the people away from Cordillera Day and the militant mass movement. But nothing could prevent the Cordillera peoples and their mass movement from celebrating this event and marking it as Their Day. The birth of a tradition April 24 is a very significant date for the peoples of the Cordillera. On the evening of April 24,1980, soldiers belonging to the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division under Lt. Leodegario Adalem fired at two houses in the village of Bugnay, Tinglayan, Kalinga. The attack meant to kill two prominent leaders of the Kalinga and Bontok peoples opposed to the World Bank‐funded Chico River Basin Hydroelectric Dam Project of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. These were Ama Macliing Dulag and Pedro Dungoc. Macliing Dulag, a respected pangat (tribal chieftain) of the Butbut tribe, died from multiple gunshots while Pedro Macliing Dulag Dungoc survived.
Pedro Dungoc later joined the New Peoples Army (NPA) and died as a Red fighter. This military terrorism and cowardly act ‐ the Macliing assassination ‐ served to strengthen the determination of the Kalinga and Bontok tribal people. It further strengthened their unity against a common enemy – the Marcos dictatorship and the WB‐funded Chico dams. The anti‐Chico dam struggle later broadened into a mass movement of the Cordillera peoples and advocates. The struggle evolved to the defense of ancestral land and for genuine regional autonomy.
The just struggle for indigenous peoples rights and against national oppression carried by the militant mass movement would resound beyond the Chico valleys and into the national and international arena of the broad movement for indigenous peoples’ rights and for self‐ determination. This is the legacy carried by the CPA up to the present. The Macliing memorials In 1981, a year after the martyrdom of Macliing Dulag, elders from Kalinga and Bontok gathered in Bugnay, Kalinga to commemorate his death and sacrifice and renew their commitment to the struggle. Since then, villages along the Chico River would take turns hosting the annual Macliing Memorial organized by the KBPPHA (Kalinga‐Bontok Peace Pact Holders Association). The KBPPHA was organized after several inter‐tribal bodong conferences forged a multi‐lateral pagta (peace pact). From the traditional bilateral peace pact, the pagta was crafted into a multilateral peace pact arrangement to unite many villages opposed to the dam project and the fascist suppression of the Marcos dictatorship. Unity was established on the uncompromising defense of the Chico valley from destruction and displacement by dam and mining projects, and assertion of human rights and indigenous peoples rights in view of fascism and militarization. The indigenous socio‐political structure and processes of the peace pact were appropriately and creatively used to build broad inter‐tribal unity. This was a political advancement and widening of worldview from the traditional bilateral peace pact. One pagta provision was “exclusion from the bodong those who join the Philippine military and those who work for the construction of dams.” Thus the indigenous binodngan practice of pagta was popularized. It served to build unity of Cordillera peoples in their common struggles to defend land, livelihood and life. The Macliing memorials increasingly grew from the gatherings of elders and mostly Chico villagers and their supporters in the anti‐dam struggle to include other people who represented other struggles being waged in other parts of the Cordillera. It became an annual celebration to remember martyrs who gave up their lives for the Cordillera struggle and an occasion for solidarity with Cordillera advocates. The memorials served to build and strengthen inter‐tribal unity. Since the venue of these commemorations were in far‐flung and militarized areas, participants endured long hikes and braved military checkpoints. Students, professionals and guests came to know the realities in the countryside. The successful anti‐Chico dam struggle by the Kalingas and Bontoks was followed by the victory of the Tinggians against Cellophil Resources Corporation (CRC). This corporation, owned by Marcos crony Herminio Disini, was awarded a logging and paper‐pulp concession covering 200,000 hectares of land with the biggest bulk in Abra in 1973.
The two struggles dramatically demonstrated the people’s decisive stance to fight for their rights and their ability to muster widespread national and international support. In the face of the open fascist rule during Martial Law, this even meant resorting to armed resistance especially as tribal communities are traditional warrior societies. Again, one message was put across strongly: No force, not even the military might of a fascist state supported by the United States could crush a determined people from waging and winning their just struggle. In defense of ancestral domain and right to self‐determination Such inspired struggle in the Cordillera countryside and the militant struggle of students, workers, professionals in the urban centers converged into the progressive and militant mass movement in the Cordillera that asserts the interests of the various ethno‐linguistic groups and tribes as well as of the democratic classes and sectors. This has evolved into the Cordillera mass movement for the defense of the ancestral domain and for self‐determination. Its organizational expression was realized in June 1984 in a Cordillera Peoples’ Congress that was attended by more than 300 representatives of 23 organizations all over the Cordillera region. In that assembly, the Cordillera Peoples Alliance was born. CPA was the first, and continues to be the only Cordillera‐wide formation that brings together in a common program and within one umbrella organization, the elders, youth and students, women, church people, professionals, workers, peasants, urban poor, and overseas Filipino workers. In February 1985, the KBPPHA resolved that the Macliing Memorial be celebrated as Cordillera Day under the banner of the CPA. April 24 became an annual celebration of Cordillera peoples’ struggles encompassing all issues, in commemoration of all Cordillera martyrs. It was also declared a solidarity day with national and international advocates and solidarity partners. In that assembly, the KBPPHA was also transformed into the Cordillera Bodong Association (CBA) that would co‐sponsor the celebration of Cordillera Day every year. In 1992, the CBA evolved into the present BPO–Binodngan People’s Organization. Bulatlat.com
Part II: Historical Highlights April 24, 1985 was the first Cordillera Day. It was celebrated in the village of Belwang, Sadanga, Mountain Province and was well participated in by peoples organizations of the different sectors. The issues of Chico dams, Cellophil, mining, militarization and human rights violations were highlighted. In 1986, the fall of the Marcos dictatorship and upsurge in the mass movement made it appropriate to hold Cordillera Day in the town center and not the usual remote interior villages. The Cordillera Day celebration was thus held in Bontoc to celebrate the overthrow of the Marcos dictatorship and to reiterate the basic Cordillera peoples’ demands to the new Aquino regime. It was the first to be held in a town center. Succeeding gatherings until 2001 would be held outside the Chico River Valley. Turbulent period The 1987 Cordillera Day was held in Lagawe, capital town of Ifugao province. This marked the first participation of representatives from other indigenous peoples’ organizations in the Asia‐ Pacific region. In this celebration, former Senators Lorenzo Tañada and Jose Diokno were given plaques of recognition for their strong support to the Cordillera peoples’ struggle. Ama Lumbaya, a respected Kalinga elder and peace pact holder who took up arms to concretize his defense of ancestral land and opposition to the Chico dams, was also recognized during the event. That year, the celebration was held amidst much hope by the people for reforms with the Aquino government. The theme carried high hopes of achieving regional autonomy. During the first months of Aquino’s assumption to power, the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA) representing the Cordillera mass movement was honored with an invitation and appearance in Malacañang for its role in the anti‐dictatorship struggle and its leadership in the particular Cordillera peoples movement for self‐determination.
But the people’s hopes were immediately shattered by the anti‐people policies of the US‐Aquino regime, particularly its total war policy and its coddling of the paramilitary Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA). In the end, 1987 turned out to be a turbulent year for the militant Cordillera mass movement. The CPLA, led by Conrado Balweg, split from the New People’s Army (NPA) and held a peace pact with President Aquino in Mt. Data in the same year. The Aquino regime would totally embrace CPLA to the exclusion and marginalization of the CPA and the militant mass movement that had historically initiated and led the Cordillera movement for defense of ancestral land and for self‐ determination. Corazon Aquino’s political shortsightedness and blind fear of the militant movement would lead to future blunders on the handling of the Cordillera struggle for self‐determination. It set up the failed Cordillera Bodong Administration – Cordillera Regional Assembly and came out with the first Organic Act for Regional Autonomy which was strongly rejected by the people. CPA exposed and criticized the CPLA for its bankrupt ideas on Cordillera self‐determination like “setting up a Cordillera nation” with a “bodong government,” creating animosity between Cordillerans and non‐Cordillerans with pronouncements such as “Cordillera for Cordillerans only,” terrorism of the paramilitary CPLA against the unarmed mass movement, and its opportunist deals with mining companies/vested interests, and positioning in government even though it is an armed group. In turn, CPA leaders were harassed and persecuted. The worst cases were the murders by CPLA operatives of Daniel Ngayaan, CPA vice chairperson, and Romy Gardo, CPA Abra coordinator, in October and December 1987, respectively. The spate of human rights violations was a testament to the folly of the Aquino regime. Its initiatives on Cordillera “self‐determination,” closely undertaken with the CPLA and other opportunist traditional politicians, were dismal failures. The CPLA would be condemned for its terrorism and would break apart. It was transformed by the military and the government as well as traditional politicians for their self‐ serving interests. Cordillera Day 1988 was held in Baguio City, as a Peoples’ Tribunal to try Conrado Balweg and the CPLA for their crimes. Witnesses and families of CPLA victims presented testimonies on CPLA atrocities before a panel composed of indigenous elders, lawyers, church people, representatives of peoples’ organizations, media, and international solidarity partners/ advocates of indigenous peoples rights and human rights. The CPLA was found guilty of at least 18 crimes. The event was a historic milestone for two reasons. First, the people’s trial was held at the height of the Aquino regime’s total war policy and CPLA terrorism. Second, the people, through their testimonies, courageously presented the truth and details of the CPLA crimes. The testimonies brought the CPLA crimes to broader public attention. The celebration drew its success from the families of the victims and witnesses who braved the storm of terrorism and persecution.
In stark contrast, the government has yet to convict or declare the CPLA responsible in any of these crimes. Rejection of false autonomy The next Cordillera Day celebration was in Tadian, Mountain Province. It took place amid the fuss over the drafting of an Organic Act for an Autonomous Region of the Cordillera, which in 1990 was rejected in a referendum. The Act failed to truly represent the land/resources and political interests of the Cordillera people and there was no genuine consultation with the people. Its close association with the CPLA was a major factor for the strong rejection. In 1990, Cordillera Day was celebrated in Conner, Apayao, with the theme, “Live out True Autonomy.” The celebration stressed that the true essence of autonomy is that which is practiced at the community level and not one that is imposed. The celebration also held the dornat or renewal of the peace pact between two communities – an Isneg tribe and a Tingguian tribe. In 1991, Cordillera Day was held for the second time in Tadian, Mountain Province. It highlighted sustainable development of resources within ancestral lands as an integral component of advancing autonomy. The following year saw the Cordillera Day celebration in Itogon, Benguet, site of the open‐pit mining operations. It projected the militant struggle of the communities against large‐scale mining and the plunder of their resources and livelihood since the early 1900s when American mining started in the area. In 1993, Cordillera Day was celebrated in Sagada, Mountain Province where soldiers and paramilitary elements stationed at a ridge overlooking the venue, “guarded” the activity. Cordillera Day 1994 was held in Mankayan, Benguet. Like Itogon, Mankayan communities since the American colonial period have been affected by large and destructive mining operations of the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company. Issues of mineworkers on retrenchment and their longstanding demands were put forward. It was also the first year of the United Nations’ International Decade for the World’s Indigenous Peoples, which ends this 2004. In line with this, the CPA’s decade‐long campaign for the “Defense of Land, Life and Resources” was also launched. It was during this year that the CPLA and other groups started their own bogus version of “Cordillera National Day.” Such self‐serving bogus celebrations would be attempted in the coming years depending on the objectives of CPLA, the Armed Forces of the Philippines or traditional politicians who persistently tried to confuse the people. Cordillera Day 1995 was the only decentralized celebration, held in the provinces of the Cordillera and in Baguio City. In 1996, Cordillera Day was celebrated in Baguio City for the second time. A breakthrough in the history of Cordillera Day, the celebration was characterized by week‐long coordinated activities
and conferences, and peaked in a march–rally. A covenant was signed denouncing the policies of the Ramos government like the Expanded Value Added Tax, the MTPDP (Medium Term Philippine Development Plan), Mining Act of 1995, San Roque Dam and policies on agriculture, tourism, ancestral lands and deceptive regional autonomy. Still the same issues The Cordillera Day celebration in 1997 focused on the issues of megadams, which were the starting issues of the early Macliing Memorials and Cordillera Day. It was held in Dalupirip, Itogon, Benguet, one of the remaining bastions of Ibaloi culture threatened by the San Roque Dam construction. Anti‐Chico dam veterans from Bontok and Kalinga shared their experience with the younger generation, narrating how they employed different legal means, mass mobilizations, and even armed resistance to defend their land. The elders openly expressed their appreciation and gratitude to the NPA for its support in their life‐and‐death struggle. They urged the people of Dalupirip to learn from their experience and heed the lessons of their struggle. Unlike the past celebrations which were held only on April 24, the 1997 Cordillera Day started the tradition of holding the celebration for two days. Various workshops on people’s issues were held on the first day. The main celebration was on the second day. The 1998 Cordillera Day was the first centralized celebration to be held in the province of Abra, outside of the 1995 decentralized celebrations. It was a slap on the face of the CPLA since it was in this area that the CPLA was formed and where the Balweg faction declared their split from the NPA in 1986. Balweg and his CPLA desperately attempted to prevent the preparations and even harassed the participants who were on their way to the venue. But all their efforts were futile as the villages remained firm in their determination to host the Cordillera Day. Delegates from Mountain Province trekked the mountains for a day just to reach the venue. Cordillera Day 1998 was held in the wake of the resounding rejection of a bogus autonomy act in a second plebiscite. It reiterated the basic position of the Cordillera peoples’ movement on the issue – genuine respect of ancestral land rights, indigenous socio‐political institutions, and democratic processes is the essence of Genuine Regional Autonomy. The celebration for Cordillera Day in 1999 was hosted by another community with many historical lessons of struggles to share. This time it was in Mainit, Bontoc, Mountain Province. Before the actual Cordillera Day celebration, Mainit and the nearby villages united in a petition to drive away the 54th Infantry Battalion from the area. Thus, there were no military harassments during the actual gathering. The host community shared their historic record in frustrating various tactics of mining companies to enter their ancestral territory as well as opposing through concerted militant actions a geothermal energy project. Thus, the challenge espoused by the 1999 Cordillera Day was to draw lessons from militant local struggles. Cordillera Day 2000 was the second celebration to be held in Abra, this time in the municipality of Sallapadan.. With the enactment of Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA) and various anti‐
people projects in the region, the call during the celebration was “Resist all attempts to disintegrate the indigenous systems and processes of the Cordillera peoples.” The unity pact forged in 1998 in Tubo was renewed in a closing ritual led by the host community and elders. The celebration supported the community protest against the FTAA (Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement) application of a U.S. mining company, Newmont. The peasant situation, IPRA (Indigenous Peoples Rights Act) and various issues on forestry were tackled. In 2001, Cordillera Day was brought again to Mankayan, Benguet ‐ a community ravaged by mining. The usual scarcity of water due to Lepanto Mining operations was minimized by the discipline of delegates in view of rationed water. This was also assuaged by a sudden welcome rain at the time of Cordillera Day. The delegates saw first‐hand the tailings dam of Lepanto, ground subsidence and massive landslide as well as the collapsed mine tailings dams. The celebration highlighted the burning issue of mining and expressed support to the local struggle against Lepanto operation and expansion. It was also during this year that the peoples’ movement participated in the electoral struggle through the party list elections. The celebration pointed out the role of the mass movement in Philippine elections and advanced the politics of genuine change. Cordillera Day 2001 supported Bayan Muna (People First), a progressive political party of marginalized sectors, which later overwhelmingly topped the party‐list elections and garnered more than enough votes to qualify for the maximum three seats allowed to party‐list groups in the House of Representatives. Returning to where it all began Going back to where it all started in the Chico Valley, Cordillera Day 2002 was celebrated in the village of Dupag, situated along the Chico River, in Tabuk, Kalinga. There was an ocular tour to the historic sites of protests against the Chico Dam passing through military detachments stationed inside the community. As Kalinga is the most militarized province in the region and is beset with tribal wars together with Mountain Province, the celebration drew attention to and passed resolutions on the issues of tribal wars, militarization, and human rights. The celebration also highlighted the national and international protests against U.S. military intervention in the Philippines, and the all‐out puppetry of the Arroyo regime to U.S President Bush’s preemptive wars of aggression and intervention in sovereign states. Cordillera Day 2002 was honored with the presence of the CPA founding chairperson, lawyer William “Billy” Claver. Aside from the remarkable support of the local government unit, the 2002 celebration had the biggest number of international delegates and mobilization in the recent celebrations. In 2003, the Cordillera Day accomplished another breakthrough as this was the only celebration ever held outside the government‐defined Cordillera Administrative Region. It was held in Lamag, Quirino, Ilocos Sur. Cordillera Day 2003 affirmed the self‐defined identity of the host community, being Igorot indigenous peoples and reaffirmed the Cordillera mountain range as the regional geographical coverage of the Cordillera region as defined by the Cordillera peoples’
movement. The celebration served to build the broadest Cordillera and Ilokandia solidarity in saving the mighty Abra River from further destruction by Lepanto Mining for the next generations. Testament to a people’s resolve Delegates to the Cordillera Day celebrations range from 3,000 to 4,500 persons. It continues to be the biggest annual regional mobilization of CPA and serves as a mass educational forum for the Cordillera mass movement. Mobilizations could easily be much bigger if not for financial constraints. Militarization has also been a factor restricting village delegations. Celebrations have also been held for the past several years in Hongkong, Belgium and Macau, and recently by Filipino Americans in California. These are organized by Cordillera migrants and workers together with international solidarity partners and advocates of Cordillera struggles and indigenous peoples rights. The history of Cordillera Day is the history of a vibrant peoples’ struggle for a just society. It is an annual observance of achievements, where weaknesses are recognized and lessons are learned. It is an annual event for renewing the commitment and ideals pursued by the Cordillera heroes and martyrs. It is a testament to the unwavering resolve of the Cordillera peoples and of the Filipino people to further strengthen the struggle for genuine regional autonomy for the Cordillera within a truly sovereign and democratic Philippines. Bulatlat.com PHOTO Cordillera Day Celebration Through the Years
ESSAY
POSTED BY BULATLAT.COM
1985: The first Cordillera Day celebration held in Sadanga, Mt. Province (Bulatlat file photo)
1986: Defending the Cordillera peoples' right to self‐determination (Bulatlat file photo)
1990: Calling on the Cordillera people to "live out true autonomy" (Photo by Lito Ocampo)
1992: Cordillera Day celebration in Baguio City (Photo courtesy of Cordillera People's Alliance)
2002: Back to where it all began ‐‐ Tabuk, Kalinga (Photos by Oliver Garcia)
2003: Building the broadest Cordillera and Ilokandia solidarity to save the Abra River from further destruction, the Cordillera Day celebration was held in Quirino, Ilocos Sur, outside of the government‐defined Cordillera Administrative Region for the first time. (Photos courtesy of Cordillera People's Alliance) Posted by Bulatlat.com
Cordillera: Still not autonomous after 21 years of preparation 07/22/2008 | 05:23 PM
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines - More than half of the people of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) have no idea that the 1987 Constitution provides for their autonomy. That's why after 21 years since the Constitution was passed, they still have not become the Cordillera Autonomous Region – not even after two plebiscites, one in 1995 and another in 1998, both of which failed. To be exact, 64 percent of the people in the region know nothing about autonomy, according to a survey conducted from October 2007 to January 2008 by the Regional Development Council. "This is lamentable, and at the same time an eye opener," Baguio Rep. Mauricio Domogan told several hundred participants of the Walk Cordillera Walk advocacy campaign on Monday at the Baguio Athletic Bowl. It was Juan Ngalob, the director of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), who cited the results of the survey. Last Monday also happened to be the 21st anniversary of CAR, which was was created on July 15, 1987, supposedly as a first step to its becoming an autonomous region. More statistics While other parts of the country are clamoring for federalism and autonomy, Cordillerans have no idea what such concepts could mean to them, politically or economically. Ngalob cited more figures that should worry Cordillera politicians: • 40 percent of Cordillerans do not know if the CAR is ready to become autonomous. • More than a third think CAR is not ready yet to become autonomous. • 66 percent of Cordillerans would not know how to vote should a third organic act need to be ratified in a plebiscite, as set in the Constitution. • Only 19 percent would vote to ratify an organic act. • 15 percent said they would votes against ratifying an organic act.
Refocusing efforts But Ngalob remains confident that the groundwork has been laid down and that an information campaign could still lead to autonomy. According to Ngalob, the government has decided to refocus its efforts to regional development and autonomy to enable local officials to deliver functions devolved by the national government, such as sharing taxes among regional agencies. To achieve that, Domogan said some local officials are now proposing to amend Executive Order 220 which paved the way for the creation of the CAR. "Let us work together to achieve what is good under EO220 without giving up the dream for autonomy," Domogan said. An autonomy law for the Cordillera is being crafted now, according to the legislator. He admitted that how past political leaders in the region here wanted to ram through the organic act without people really understanding the meaning of autonomy. Shift To federalism Autonomy advocate Gabino Ganggangan, a former mayor of Sadanga town in Mountain Province, claims that the first two autonomy drafts were government sponsored laws that were "planned to fail." The issue of autonomy, he said, had become so unpopular that even the earlier prime movers had shifted strategy by adopting a more prominent stance for federalism. Leaders of the newly unified Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA) and its political arm, the Cordillera Bodong Administration (CBA) has agreed to pursue Cordillera autonomy’s political and economic development agenda this time. But it will do so in a wider and broader scope through a federal form of national governance, according to Miguel Guimbatan Jr., who had helped the CPLA and CBA. Lawyer Joel Obar, a former CBA chief executive, explained that the term autonomy has lost its meaning after being misused, abused, and tainted with several negative connotations. "Federalism is an answer," Obar said. Obar still encourages advocates to resume their passion for self-determination and self-governance through federalism. He suggests a separate federal state also for the Cebuano’s, the Ilongos, and the Warays. Newly elected CPLA chief of staff Mando Mosing, alias Ka Mando, said: "Federalism has been our stand even before the autonomy concept was introduced. We have a unique resource base and cultural background. Development efforts should start from here." In 1986, Mosing received the peace tokens from President Corazon Aquino during the Mount Data peace
accord with the CPLA. Common culture, common aspirations The upland region of the Cordillera is still composed of indigenous people in the provinces of Abra, Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Apayao. Each have diversified practices but with a distinct and common cultural heritage, history, and aspirations. CBA president Marcelina Bahatan suggests that other areas with distinct culture and resources might want to develop and be governed with their own unique way through a federal regional government. A national movement to shift to a federal form of government is gaining ground with the proposal of maintaining 11 federal estates. From north to south, they are: 1. Northern Luzon 2. Cordillera 3. Central Luzon 4. Metro Manila 5. Southern Luzon 6. Bicol 7. Western Visayas and Palawan 8. Central and Eastern Visayas 9. Northern Mindanao and Zamboanga Peninsula 10. Davao Region and Central Mindanao 11. Bangsamoro (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) According to the federalism proposal: "Each is an autonomous regional government of the federal republic. The territory of the different 'estados' is determined by a combination of geographic contiguity of their component areas, their ethnic, linguistic and other cultural aspects, and their socio-economic potential and viability." - GMANews.TV
Cordillera: Autonomy Campaign Gets Funding Sunday, 11 February 2007
Below is an article published by Sun Star: President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has earmarked P15 million [approximately 240.000 Euro] from the approved P1.126 trillion national budget this year to jumpstart the mapping of strategies to jumpstart the revitalized autonomy campaign in the Cordillera. Mountain Province Governor Maximo Dalog, chairman of the Regional Development Council (RDC), said the renewed autonomy campaign is aimed at teaching local government units to be fiscally autonomous
before
the
region
could
be
ready
for
the
long
desired
self
rule.
He added the continuing appropriation, which will be under the care of the RDC, will be on the perception of Cordillerans on autonomy especially for the present and future generations. Earlier, the RDC approved the revival of the debates on Cordillera autonomy and requested Arroyo to provide P33 million annually as its working budget to formulate appropriate strategies that could help inform the people on the real purpose and benefits of autonomy. National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Regional Director Juan Ngalob, concurrent RDC vice chairman, pointed out that the best way to achieve regional autonomy is to make sure that all local government units comprising the Cordillera are financially stable because fiscal autonomy is the foundation of political autonomy. In achieving fiscal autonomy, he said local officials must not increase existing taxes but instead come up with be resourceful in maximizing their available potential sources of revenue. Dalog said the funds will be utilized for the preparation and full implementation of the strategies that will finally convert the administrative status of the Cordillera into a full-pledged autonomous region. The 1987 Constitution provides that autonomous regions will be established in the Cordillera and Mindanao in recognition of their plight for self-governance. On July 15, 1987, former President Corazon Aquino signed Executive Order 220 creating the Cordillera Administrative Region, which is composed of the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province and the City of Baguio in preparation for its autonomous status. However, the Cordillerans overwhelmingly rejected the two autonomy laws passed by Congress in two plebiscites: one on January 30, 1990 and the other on March 7, 1998. Ngalob claimed the RDC is not rushing the conversion of the Cordillera into an autonomous region but people must be well-educated on the benefits of being an autonomous region in the next 20 years or more.