CPLA persona non grata in Baguio but hold parade

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

BAGUIO CITY – As government officials in the Cordillera Administrative Region commemorated the signing of a peace agreement between the national government under former president Corazon “Cory” Aquino and the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) led by former rebel priest Conrado “Ka Ambo” Balweg in 1986, the event was criticized by militant groups here and in the region.   

Malacañang issued Proclamation 802 declaring Sept. 13, 2019 as special non-working holiday in the CAR in commemoration of the 1986 "sipat", an indigenous practice which is preliminary to the forging of a peace pact among the Cordillera tribes.

                The “Sipat”, which means peace agreement in the local dialect, was done between Aquino and the New People’s Army breakaway group CPLA.

                It involved the exchange of tokens -- a bible, a rifle, and a rosary from Aquino to Balweg. Cory received a spear, shield, bolo and a head ax from Balweg on September 13, 1986 at Mount Data Hotel in Bauko, Mountain Province.

                Sipat" started the process to end the hostilities with Balweg’s group heeding the call for peace in the entire country.

                According to government officials, the 1986 Mount Data Sipat agreement is the first peace agreement successfully entered into by the national government during Aquino's administration.

It allowed both sides to begin negotiating peace.

                It led to the issuance of Executive Order No. 220 on July 15, 1987, which created the CAR. 

                ***

Last Friday, the so-called CPLA held a parade in Baguio City.

We won’t comment on this and just let pundits have their piece in their own words. Anyway, we are supposed to be living in a democratic society in this Banana Republic beset by almost daily media exposes on government corruption. 

Here is a statement issued by the militant Tongtongan Ti Umili and Cordillera Peoples Alliance on the matter: 

On 'Sipat' anniversary: The CPLA has no business in Baguio

Tongtongan ti Umili-Cordillera Peoples Alliance strongly condemns the presence of the paramilitary Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA) as they mark the anniversary of the sham Mount Data Peace Accord. 

As per a 1999 Baguio City Council resolution, the Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA) is declared persona non grata in the City of Baguio.

They are not allowed to set foot in the City more so hold a grandiose parade and “celebrate” the Mt. Data Accord which transformed CPLA into a government-sponsored vigilante group. Instead, the CPLA should be evicted out of Baguio and be held liable for the crimes they committed against the people of the Cordillera.

With its long track record of crimes against the people, the CPLA has long proven itself to be an already irrelevant force. It should be recalled that the CPLA has long been involved in land disputes in the city, taking advantage of the urban poor while serving as an illegal security force for syndicates and land grabbers. 

It should also be recalled that the CPLA was also involved in the extrajudicial killings of mass leaders and activists in the Cordillera.

This includes Ama Daniel Ngayaan and Romy Gardo back in 1987. The group's sham 'sipat' with the then Corazon Aquino administration only lashed out a spate of human rights violations to a people still reeling from the Marcos dictatorship.

The city officials of Baguio should then not let its name be tainted with the gross history of crimes against the people by the CPLA.

Today, in their foolish show of force, we call for the disarming and dismantling of the paramilitary CPLA. In a time where attacks against the people are coming at all fronts, vigilantes like the CPLA should not be anything close to empowered especially under the Duterte regime’s Executive Order 70 institutionalizing the 'whole-of-nation approach' and the bogus National Peace Framework. 

History holds that the CPLA never brought peace, and only sowed discord and terror in the region. The people shall never let criminals and scalawags like them be coddled by the government again.