BEHIND THE SCENES

CPLA rearing its ugly head
Alfred P. Dizon

The Cordillera People’s Liberation Army is actually a paper tiger but it is once again rearing its ugly head due to criminal activities of its members and of course, posturing of its purported leaders so they could get more concessions and money from the government.

These characters in the CPLA who have been touting themselves as “saviors” of the Cordillera people have once again succeeded in their antics to get noticed by the government.
As a result, the regional peace and order council created a technical working group to make a study and make recommendations on what to do with this monster. All the while, we thought this monster’s wings and head have been clipped.
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According to RPOC members, they would like to come up with a “common understanding, definite stand and resolution of issues concerning the CPLA” being raised by complainants and critics of this motley group of trying-hard characters.

The “TWG for CPLA concerns” is headed by Susan Marcaida, director for program implementation and monitoring office of the presidential adviser on peace process.

Its members are composed of representatives from the regional police, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Northern Luzon Command, Department of Interior and Local Government, National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Justice, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas and Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club.
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CPLA officer Corazon Balweg, chief of staff; Mailed Molina, chairman and Marcelina Bahatan, president were also included as members. I am confused why the media and CPLA officers had to be included in the TWG. As things stand now, even officers of the media and CPLA groups couldn’t police their ranks. What more to chasing a paper tiger? Ah! Anyway, we need entertainment every now and then to amuse us from the daily newspaper grind.

TWG officers said they were looking on reported recruitment and demand for integration and alleged involvement of some CPLA members in criminal activities. They can ask the hapless landowners at Dominican Hill in Baguio who have been terrorized by CPLA members into giving away their lands to them. Even the lot of the wife of a newspaperman’s family in Tiptop, Beckel in Baguio had been the object of speculation by CPLA members. But they didn’t pursue their bad intention when they came to know the lot was owned by the newsman’s kin.
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There are a lot more we could cite here but let us leave the job to the TWG and since the group is funded by taxpapers’ money and they earn every centavo allotted to them.

Former mayor Gabby Ganggangan of the “inactive” Cordillera Bodong Administration had said it was high time the administration and the CPLA should level off and assess what happened since the government presented by former President Corazon Aquino signed a peace pact with the rebel group on Sept. 13, 1986.

According to Ganggangan, some objectives of the CPLA were gained but some were not. I have been covering CPLA issues as a newsman ever since CPLA members broke off from the New People’s Army in 1986 and formed the group.
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I was there in Barangay Bugnay in Tinglayan, Kalinga when they formalized their break purportedly due to ideological differences with the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA. But sad to say, over the years, CPLA members have been charged with a lot of human rights violations ranging from murder, rape and torture. They have also been accused of landgrabbing, involvement in illegal gambling like rigging of cockfights and being bodyguards of political warlords. My personal experience with the CPLA: we were nearly massacred by this group in Cagaluan, Kalinga in 1987.
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Cordillera regional police director Chief Supt. Eugene Martin said during the RPOC meeting that with involvement of CPLA in activities affecting peace and order, an assessment to determine how far government has complied relative to the Mt. Data Peace accord agreements and whether there was still a need to maintain the CPLA as an armed group.

The task force can look over newspaper clippings over the years and bleed.

Ms Aquino had signed the peace accord with the CPLA represented by rebel priest Conrado Balweg which formalized cessation of hostilities between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the CPLA. This led to the passing of Executive Order 220 creating the Cordillera Administrative Region.

The CBA was created as the political and mother organization while the CPLA with the CPLA as military armed component, but constitutionalists have pointed out there could only be one Armed Forces of the Philippines.
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During the RPOC meeting, Bahatan was quoted as saying she was appreciative they were now being invited to join meetings to discuss their concerns but added she was surprised there were many meetings wherein CPLA issues were discussed they were not aware of.

National Police Commission director Rodolfo G. Santos, also the RPOC head secretariat, said this was because they did not know whom to invite as the CPLA had factions. As culled out from minutes of RPOC meetings, issues and concerns concerning the CPLA have been tackled since 2000.

In the same forum, Ganggangan said there was only one CPLA now headed by Molina, Balweg (wife of the late rebel priest who was gunned down by New People’s Army guerillas) and Bahatan.

But even as Bahatan and Ganggangan said there were no CPLA factions since 2003, Martin told them to “establish control over the group and police your ranks, before we can start talking.”
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On CPLA involvement in illegal activities, Ganggangan said if indeed CPLA members were involved, they should be arrested and charged in court since the group ‘in principle’ does not tolerate criminal activities. The TWG members could ask the “high command” of the CPLA. They should know who the wayward members are.

The issue on determining the real number of the CPLA had been brought out. A Philippine Information Agency report said members were reportedly being recruited with the number now reaching about 4,000 but I doubt this. I guess, this is just a ploy to get more monetary concessions from the government.

The more so-called CPLA members, of course, the government would have to dole out more. But before the government does this, it should investigate first where funds intended for CPLA livelihood programs have been used in the past like those in Kalinga and Abra.

On livelihood for CPLA members, as part of provisions of EO 220, the the army Northern Luzon Command said some were implemented. The Nolcom earlier reported a P2 million seed money distributed to seven CPLA cooperatives in the region. The TWG could investigate if the money was judiciously spent.
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On the integration process, based on a Nolcom report, 1,200 CPLA members recommended for integration to the AFP was accomplished. This included 246 fully integrated composed of 15 officers and 249 enlisted personnel and 528 CPLA members absorbed in six CAFGU active auxiliary companies currently deployed in the Cordillera. Of those who were integrated, four officers and 13 EP died or were discharged.