EDITORIAL

The Igorot Global Organization and RDC on Cordillera autonomy

Most delegates to the Igorot Global Organization in Banaue last week were of the contention that for the Cordillera to progress, the people and officials have to get their acts together. Tall order, but then, to walk mile, one has to make the first step. Members of the government’s Regional Development council who attended the conference said they were doing their best to bring stability to the region by pushing autonomy for the region through a long-term massive information and education campaign.

The RDC bared this saying they would hasten information and education campaign on regional development and autonomy. In its financial plan, the RDC would spend part of the P15 million initial release by Malacanang “for massive information and education campaign purposes to acquaint the people on the real benefits of attaining self-governance.”

They said analysis of a survey they conducted concluded the populace is generally interested on regional autonomy including those who remain undecided but want the Cordillera’s capability to become autonomous gradually developed on a phase by phase program.

Earlier, the baseline survey conducted between October 2007 and January 2008 in five provinces of the Cordillera including Baguio City to get the peoples pulse on the issue of regional autonomy indicated appropriate strategies were needed to convince the people to vote for regional autonomy once the issue is brought to constituents through a third Organic Act.

The survey indicated that 41.4 percent of the Cordillera populace is not aware of the 1987 constitutional provision for the creation of an autonomous region in the Cordillera. It was also bared 64 percent tend not to be aware of the legislative powers being granted to the proposed cordillera autonomous region.

Ironically, 66.3 percent claimed they were undecided should a new plebiscite to ratify a new Organic Act would be held. While autonomy advocates assert that regional autonomy is far more beneficial than the present administrative status of the Cordillera, the RDC said they believe that the people are being misinformed by anti-autonomy groups who provide the people in the grassroots level misleading issues relative to an autonomous status for the region.

During the plebiscite for the first Organic Act held last January 30, 1990, only Ifugao province voted in favor of regional autonomy but the Supreme Court ruled that one province could not comprise an autonomous region.

Apayao was the only province which then voted in favor of joining the proposed autonomous region during the March 7, 1998 plebiscite. In 2006, the RDC decided to take the cudgels for the renewed pursuit for regional autonomy through the conduct of a scientific approach that would guarantee the affirmative vote of the cordillera people once a third organic Act will be submitted to the Cordillerans for approval as soon as the region is really prepared to embrace an autonomous status. The information drive is recommended but, the issue of autonomy for the Cordillera should be tackled objectively.