Palace declares July 15 holiday
BAGUIO CITY – The Office of the President has declared July 15, Monday,
a special non-working day in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) to mark
its 32nd founding anniversary.
The holiday declaration in CAR was contained in Proclamation No. 763
signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea last July 4.
“On 15 July 2019, Monday, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)
will mark the celebration of its 32nd Founding Anniversary,” the proclamation
read.
“It is but fitting and proper that the people of the CAR be given full
opportunity to celebrate and participate in the occasion with the appropriate
ceremonies,” it added.
The Palace also released three other holiday proclamations in some
places to celebrate their respective historic occasions.
The Cordillera will be celebrating its 32nd founding anniversary in
Tabuk City, Kalinga wherein Kalinga will serve as the host local government
while the Cordillera office of the Department of Public works and Highways
(DPWH-CAR) will be the host agency for this year’s celebration being the lead
agency in the infrastructure committee of the Regional Development Council
(RDC-CAR).
Earlier, the RDC-CAR decided to rotate the hosting of the annual
celebration of the region’s founding anniversary to the different local
governments comprising the CAR and the sectoral committees of the region’s
policy-making body.
Executive Order No. 220 was issued by former President Corazon C. Aquino
on July 15, 1987 that created the CAR which will be composed of the provinces
of Abra, Benguet, Mountain Province and Baguio City from the Ilocos Region and
the provinces of Ifugao and Kalinga-Apayao from the Cagayan Valley region.
Under the said presidential issuance, the CAR was tasked to perform the
activities of government in the region, accelerate the socio-economic growth in
the region and prepare the region for regional autonomy.
The CAR founding anniversary kicked off Tuesday with the week-long Unity
Gong Relay wherein the coveted gong will be brought around the region prior to
the culminating program that will be conducted in Tabuk City, Kalinga on July
15.
After the culminating program on July 15, the gong will be passed by the
provincial officials of Kalinga to the provincial officials of Mountain
Province considering that the province will serve as the host local government
for next year’s CAR founding anniversary celebration.
The creation of the CAR was an offshoot of the Sept. 13, 1987 peace
agreement between the Philippine government represented by former President
Cory Aquino and the Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA) under the
leadership of the late Fr. Conrado Balweg.
The Cordillera continues to bank on its services-driven economy to be
one of the top performing regions in terms of economic growth over the past two
years with its 12. Percent growth in 2017 and 7.1 percent growth in 2018.
The “gong
relay” will move from here to the provinces of Apayao, Abra, Benguet, Baguio
City, Mountain Province, Ifugao then back to Kalinga as host province on July
14 in time for the culminating activity on June 15,” Peter Balocnit, Philippine
Information Agency-Kalinga information center manager, said on Wednesday.
Balocnit, chairman of the committee on media and
documentation for the event, said this year’s celebration of Cordillera month
will showcase the region’s rich heritage with various cultural activities.
There will be traditional songs, dances,
performances, theater plays depicting the region’s history. Native delicacies
will also be served to guests and those part of the “unity gong” caravan, he
said.
Pasil, Kalinga town’s "Pakidum", a
musical play depicting Kalinga’s life cycle and how the province transformed
amid conflicts between sub-tribes will be shown during the pre-program on July
14.
“Pakidum” was coined from the word “pakid” which is
a set of six pieces of gongs and followed by the third syllable of “SaliDUMmay”
a word that is common in Cordillera songs and chants. The group is composed of
50 performers.
Balocnit said Pakidum is an instrument for
peace-building and has been played in different stages including the promotion
of “Unoy” (heirloom rice) at the central office of the Department of
Agriculture.
Another highlight of the pre-program will be the
Cordillera Laga (weaving) fashion show to be participated by models from each
of the Cordillera provinces.
A documentary film “Mountain Spirits: Textiles and
Folk Arts of Cordillera and Ilokos”, an audio-visual presentation on Kalinga’s
tourism potentials will also be shown.
On the sidelines are exhibits on artisan works,
traditional pottery, weaving, pyrography, beads stringing and painting.
On July 15, the culminating program will start with
a grand parade with DPWH Undersecretary Rafael Yabut as the guest of honor and
speaker.
The program will be followed by the inauguration of
two DPWH projects in Tabuk City.
The Infrastructure Committee of the Regional
Development Council is the co-host of this year’s celebration with the theme
“CAR @32: Building ONE Greater Cordillera.”
There will also be a film showing on regional
infrastructure gains, awarding of Forwarding Local Autonomy Medal Excellence
(FLAME), cultural presentations, statement of perpetual gratitude to the men
and women behind the struggle for self-determination and statement of
commitment by all the local officials of the different provinces and cities
comprising the region. -- Dexter A.
See and PNA
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