Feasibility Of Autonomous Region In Cordillera

When I was in elementary, this was during the tenure of former President Corazon Aquino, my father used to read facts and details about the proposed organic act for the so called Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Cordillera Autonomous Region. At that time,  I did not have any idea of what these were all about, until such time when I had a time to browse these files and concurrently heard about the proposed regionalization once again of the selected provinces in the region to be headed by a governor.

This topic has caught my attention nowadays after I read about the column of Representative Teodoro Baguilat Jr. in the Philippine Daily Inquirer dated July 16, 2013 seeking for a third attempt to refile and pass an organic act for a real Cordillera Autonomous Region in the 16th Congress.

This topic has really struck my attention because I have a deep sympathy with the people of Cordillera because I was once a former student of the said region.  
During my stint in Baguio City, year 1996-1997, I had a lot of local friends, classmates and contemporaries who were living in the provinces under Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR), but not all of them came from highlands or were 'igorot,' or ‘nefut’- a euphemism for the term 'igorot.' According to my ifugao classmate, youths in Ifugao—a landlocked province in Benguet—were no longer aspiring for a greener pasture in their province instead they were much attached on the modern technology such as computers and information technology on hand. After the integration of modern technology in the academe and the extreme interest of common folks therein, the famous 2,000-year-old rice terraces—comprise of 5 inscribed clusters and made with bare hands—were disregarded and left out in infestation and state of disintegration. Even, students there did not even desire to neither maintain and cultivate the land nor be the heir of the rice land. So to save the decaying rice plantations, the UNESCO World Heritage decided to declare the whole place as the World Heritage Site in 1995 to preserve the millenium-old wonder of the world.

Way back, cordillerans resisted the invasion of the Spanish—not including all the invasions happened since time immemorial—without nationalism in their minds and pure instinctive. Because during that time, they did not recognize any form of government other than their tribes. But the Americans, instead of colonizing the region and upon learning of the Igorots century of resistance against colonizers, had made themselves adopted sons of the cordillerans. Still, cordillerans maintained their fortress in their land.

 The proposal to revive the autonomy of the region has put to the test anew. It started all when the Cory Aquino Administration and Commander Balweg—a revolutionist priest—signed a peace treaty with a condition to build an autonomous region in the Cordillera. By this proposition, the regional autonomous government concept was originated. The drafters of the 1987 Philippine Constitution formalized this concept in one of its provisions creating Autonomous Region in Mindanao and Cordillera.

When a plebiscite was called forth in 1990 and 1998, the Catholic Church vehemently opposed the said proposal and lobbied to dismiss the autonomy of the region owing to imminent exploitation, illegal activity and graft and corruption in the allocation of funds for the said autonomy and would cause its natural resources to be put under the authority of the State.

But for me, it is now high time to move on. The initiative of Rep. Teddy Baguilat to revive the autonomy of Cordillera for the 3^rd time is just a start towards regional progress. We all know that cordillerans are very honest  and industrious. I hope they can make it to become autonomous. By means of this proposition, Cordillerans can now hope for lasting progress; economic growth in the region; creation of livelihood and educational institution . Most importantly, Cordillerans can now become independent economically from its neighboring provinces and regions. But before doing such, a plebiscite would be called first prior to its approval. The majority of the electorates will prevail on a proposal for reintegration of the provinces into one entity for economic freedom. The success of their outlands is in their hands.