HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina Dizon
Who informs who on regional autonomy?

SAGADA, Mountain Province -- This time, with National Development Authority regional director and Regional Development Council chairman Juan Ngalob as special guest during the Cordillera Day held here at barangay Suyo, both the militant Cordillera Peoples Alliance and the government sang a happy tune as they joined hands to celebrate the momentous event.

RDC conducted an information-education campaign on regional autonomy with the Movement for the Advancement of Inter-Tribal Unity and Democracy (MAITUD), an organizational member of CPA last April 23. MAITUD is an organization of elders in Mountain Province.

Interesting. RDC informing the elders about what is regional autonomy or is it the other way around? CPA and some MAITUD members including Fr Eduardo Solang, one of the CPA pioneers of regional autonomy in the 1980s, were in the forefront pursuing Cordillera autonomy in the halls of Malacanang. Eventually, the Cordillera social activists’ moves gave way to the inclusion of regional autonomy for Cordillera and Mindanao in the 1987 Constitution.

Cordillera Day held here in the village of Suyo was attended by Fr Solang also a former Mountain Province board member, and MAITUD elders Peczon and Nelson Yocogan who graced the occasion during the MAITUD –RDC session on regional autonomy.

MAITUD officer and Suyo barangay captain/ ABC Chair Jaime Tigan-o Dogao delivered his message commemorating the event. Other special guests also included Sagada mayor Eduardo Latawan aside from RDC Chair Juan Ngalob.
Cordillera Day now is being separately celebrated per province of the Cordillera with discussions of similar related issues on human rights violations, environment and agricultural liberalization.

Back to the question. Who is doing the teaching this time? Is it the RDC? Is there something new that CPA or MAITUD has to learn from RDC about regional autonomy? For the past two plebiscites on regional autonomy held in 1990 and 1998, CPA opted to stand in the sidelights and maintained a critical stand. The RDC-led campaign now implies that CPA or MAITUD has to learn something new, or wants to get in the government’s version of what it initially did not support.

Or is RDC going to be the one to be enlightened about what is regional autonomy? We see the government through RDC and the CPA through MAITUD, forging a reconciliatory position on how to go about the government ‘s version of regional autonomy.

Whatever way, the drive for regional autonomy will be a plus factor in favor of the government with RDC being favorably welcome in the 25th celebration of the militant Cordillera Day held by the Cordillera People’s Alliance.
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With the P15 million autonomy fund not having been approved by the Senate for the General Appropriations Act 2009, yet earlier passed by the House of Representatives, we see the drive for autonomy in the dark. Yet, Ngalob is hopeful to wait for the finalization of the 2009 budget. If the Senate did not approve it, chances are, it will have a hard time getting some approval in the final 2009 budget.

And to wait apparently, is an endless wait which seemingly ends in a nowhere result of which might be. And so obviously, the practical way is to realign the savings in RDC’s 2008 budget, otherwise, the information campaign for regional autonomy gets stalled.

Which will however set a precedent that realignment of funds can be done again next year and budget allocation for advocacy of autonomy will not be a ready act of the Senate or the President. And so the best way is to lobby for the funds to be specially allocated, much more so that the move for regional autonomy is constitutional anyway.

Which brings us back to the question of how the initial P15 million educational funds for autonomy were spent. It would be good if Ngalob comes out with a statement how the initial P15 million was spent. This way, the public will be enlightened of how autonomy funds are being spent and the public may come out with better ways to advocate autonomy than how the government -led advocacy is being done.

(Note: As I write this opinion, I am thankful to Patrick Pooten, principal of Ankileng National High School, and also a former and still is a social activist for Cordillera rights and welfare, for providing photos which set basis for me to write this column.)