Cordillerans coming home for big powwow

By Ramon Dacawi

BAGUIO CITY -- People of different walks, shades, ages, persuasions and locations who trace their roots and family affiliations to the Cordillera or are interested in issues affecting this mountain region and its people, will converge in Baguio this April for the ninth biennial Igorot International Consultation (IIC) of the Igorot Global Organization (IGO).

Organizers said issues lined up at the consultation - or powwow - include ancestral domain, culture and the arts, governance, government-private sector partnership, and environment and climate change.

Also on tap in the thematic discussion groups set on April 13 at the Baguio Country Club is one on youth and development.

This is in keeping with the spirit of a resolution from the youth at the 7th IIC in Banaue, Ifugao that they be given a voice in the discussions and in the preparations for the next consultations.

This will be the third time that the IIC will be held in the Cordillera since the first was held in West Covina, California in September, 1995. It transferred to Virginia, United States of America in 1997; London, United Kingdom in 2002; St. Louis, Missouri in 2004; Melbourne Australia (2006); and Vancouver, Canada in 2010.

IGO, formally founded at the third IIC in 2000 at the Green Valley Country Club here, is “dedicated to the preservation of the culture and existence of an indigenous Filipino group called Igorots, the upliftment and advancement of the Igorots to be more productive members of society, and the promotion and sharing the rich heritage and history of the Igorots”.

In a talk with this writer, the late Rex Botengan, a pillar in the establishment of the IGO and the IIC, said he envisioned IGO to serve as a mechanism for expatriates to reach out to the Cordillera during emergencies and to support development projects in their homeland.

A result of that vision is the Igorot Scholarship Program for students in state colleges and suniversities within the Cordillera. The flagship program also augments facilities of these educational institutions and supports research on Igorot history and culture.

IGO’s mission statement is “to preserve for future generations the diverse heritage of the Igorot people and proactively promote their upliftment, advancement and interests and those of related people”.

Its vision is “to be the advocate of Igorot rights and causes – linking Igorots and related people worldwide”.

Based in the United States of America, IGO has established chapters all over the world through chapters of the BIBAK, the organization of people who trace their roots to Baguio and the Cordillera provinces.

Leading the delegates coming home is IGO-International president Ceasar Castro, the former president of BIBAK Vancouver in Canada. The locals will be headed by IGO-Philippines president Manuel Ano.

The 9th IIC will open on April 12 at the posh Baguio Country Club with a plenary session focusing on: In Retrospect: IGO/IIC; People Participation in a Democracy; Public-Private Partnership: Baguio City Experience; People Organization in the Context of Self-Governance; Cordillera Development in the Context of Regional Autonomy and Development; Igorot Migrant Workers (Issues/Concerns/Programs); Multiculturalism in the Context of Peace and Development.

An opening sidebar will be the launching of the book “Igorot By Heart”, a compilation of keynote speeches and presentations during the past eight consultations, together with the 2nd Igorot Open golf tournament, both at the Baguio Country Club.

From the Country Club, the delegates will transfer on April 13 to the Pooten Residence at Asin, Tuba, Benguet for the Cultural Day featuring gong beating and dancing, indigenous games, group presentations, token sharing and turn-over of the symbolic gong to IGO-Austria, host of the 10th IIC in 2014.

Registration fees for the consultation here are pegged at US$150 for delegates from overseas; P3,000 for locals; $90 for overseas youth (14 and below); and P1,750 for their local counterparts.