Pres Aquino declares July 15 Cordillera Day

BAGUIO CITY – President Aquino has declared July 15 as a special non-working holiday in the Cordillera Administrative Region in celebration of the region’s 28th Foundation Day.

“It is but fitting that the people of CAR be given full opportunity to celebrate and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies,” read Proclamation 1056 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr.

CAR was created under Executive Order 220 signed by former President Corazon Aquino on July 15, 1987.

With the theme “Conserving the Environment Toward a Greener Cordillera,” this year’s celebration will be hosted by the provincial government of Apayao, with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as head of the Regional Development Council’s Environment and Watershed Management Sectoral Committee.

The activities for the 28th Cordillera Day will start on July 9 in Luna town in Apayao, with a unity gong relay that will be passed around the region’s six provinces and two cities. Now on its fourth year, the unity gong symbolizes the pursuit for a regional autonomy in the Cordilleras.

As part of the unity gong relay, a symbolic tree will be planted in each of the provinces.

A series of activities will also be conducted in Apayao and in other provinces in the region.

Among these are the eco-tour of Apayao, agri-trade fair, technology and job fair, biodiversity and environmental forum and public consultation on the proposed House Bill 4649 or An Act Creating the Cordillera Autonomous Region.

The celebration will culminate on July 15 in Luna with Sen. Koko Pimentel, a supporter of the Cordillera autonomy, as guest of honor and speaker.

To start the series of activities a media forum was held June 24 at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources compound in Pacdal, Baguio City.  

Activities include forum on declaration of principles on environmental governance July 3 in University of the Philippines Baguio, and biodiversity exhibit and an autonomy forum in Luna.

Guests shall also be treated to tours that showcase Apayao’s prime ecotourism sites: Marag Valley, Lussok Caves and Nagan River. 

The Unity Gong Relay, the Cordillera Month mainstay activity that highlights unity among Cordillerans, will begin in Apayao, proceed to Kalinga, then to Ifugao, Mountain Province, Benguet, Baguio City, Abra and back to Apayao.  

There will also be a job fair, an agri-trade fair to feature the best of the region’s coffee products.

A “stakeholders night” and “Search for Dayagti Cordillera” will be held July 14, followed by culminating program and parade the next day. 

The public, government and private sectors, are invited to participate in the festivities.  

The regional Cordillera offices of DENR (074 443-9406) and NEDA (074 442-3232) can be contacted for more details on schedule of activities.

The “Secom on watershed and environmental management,” in partnership with Apayao provincial government, is heading this year’s Cordillera Month celebration.   

The CAR Regional Development Council sectoral committees and provinces take turns in coordinating and hosting Cordillera Month an annual regional event that started in1988.