Mountain Province autonomy update

HAPPY WEEKEND
Gina Dizon

BONTOC, Mountain Province -- The move for regional autonomy is gaining interest in Mountain Province from the local government and the private sector.

Gov. Leonard Mayaen’s opening up the floor for the public to get involved in drafting the organic act for regional autonomy has seemingly made the much criticized and elusive quest for autonomy somehow accepted by the people here. Its relevance and practicality along with the resolve to make things better for a better Mountain Province is seemingly a commonly felt aspiration of why the third attempt might as well be asserted.

The first attempt for regional autonomy in the 1990 plebiscite and the second in 1998 failed due to the unpopularity of such a move where only Ifugao and Apayao respectively voted in favor. The law provides for at least two provinces for the Cordillera to be regionally autonomous.

Among the identified sectors to participate in the drafting of the organic act are elders, academe, business, Non-Government Organizations, and the religious sectors. Representatives had also been identified by respective sectors during the August 26 consultation-assembly. The NGO sector included those from the women and the farmers’ groups.

Although Mountain Province’ provincial representative to the mother drafting committee, Franklin Odsey said the sub-committee shall be open to other sectors which shall be identified in further meetings after the scheduled September 30 mother committee meeting when guidelines shall be discussed.

The mother committee refers to the regional drafting committee chaired by Mayor Mauricio Domogan composed of the provincial representatives (not the elected solons).
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In this province where livelihood is a major problem, the matter is definitely a foreseen major topic of discussion come consultations with the people. How can autonomy generate employment for the people? How can autonomy make better lives for its constituents and lessen people from going outside of the country to look for jobs abroad?

Nearly 90% of people in the province are farmers and rely on the fruit of the earth as source of livelihood. The relevance of autonomy would then be a big question on how helpful it would be in alleviating income and raising the quality of living for its constituents.

Mountain Province and the region for that matter sit rich in natural resources. For one, the waters of the Chico River feeds into irrigation needs of farmers downstream yet the province does not have an automatic share on irrigation fees from the National Irrigation Authority.

Mt Province’s mountains too, are platform for telecommunication radio towers which reach as far as the Ilocos, Sierra Madre, and Central Luzon. Yet, taxes of these big companies are paid directly to where the national offices are located.

The host LGU still has to lobby for its share from the Department of Budget and Management, like what Ifugao LGU has done in order to claim its tax-shares from SN Aboitiz for the use of Magat Waters.

Similarly, the region is rich in mineral deposits currently mined by big companies which pay their taxes in the collecting location of its national office.

Lawyer Florence Taguiba, MP representative of the business sector in the drafting committee says the taxing scheme needs to be reviewed in favor of the host LGU where use of natural resources are sourced from.

What relevant policies can be crafted where existing laws can be amended to rates favorably higher to the LGUs hosting these natural resources? Shall it be 70-30? 60-40? or 80-20 percent scheme? The higher the better where natural resources are sourced from. And the more directly taxes are paid to host LGUs, the better.

Too, the region's natural resources sit staring and waiting for development to happen. How much of the mountains can be turned into productive economic ventures? Are we in for mines for example? Waters are a plenty. How much of our rivers can be turned into hydropower energy?

While this is so, the needed investment capital to turn natural resources and already existing local industries into industrialized opportunities are wanting. That is, while conscious of the environment and sustainable development.

While that is so, the current Internal Revenue Allotment coming from the national government shall remain; aside from additional funds which shall be generated within the control and administration of the autonomous region, Governor Leonard Mayaen said.

Isunga, ti anya nga rason nga ag-autonomy nu awan ti maitono? Regional autonomy talks much about fiscal and economic autonomy in the control of its resources.

In the same vein, gaining fiscal and local ‘control’ of the region's natural resources through a proposed autonomy law puts to a test how welcome the national legislature and the President would be to a constitutionally mandated provision.

It is interesting to know that former Baguio congressman Mauricio Domogan's (who is now Baguio mayor) bill calling for a direct share in taxes of national companies operating in territories of respective LGUs saw the light of day in Congress yet never saw the light of the tunnel when this was forwarded to the Senate.

Too, administration comes within the ambit of control. Mayor Domogan and representative to the drafting committee and former Bontoc mayor Franklin Odsey say an administrative set up would be the practical autonomous system where national agencies are supervised and coordinated within the region. This means national agencies shall not be directly reporting to the national government but shall report to the regional administrative leadership.
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The amount of P500, 000 is allotted as operational budget for the provinces in their autonomy drive. Really! And where will the rest of the P11 million out of the P15 million budget go?

The bulk of the work for an autonomy drive happens in the provinces considering consultations and information, and not focused in Baguio and urban centers not much reached by the voting public. It would be absurd if the Regional Development Council would be allocating more finances for its overhead administrative cost, if such is the case, rather than for provinces which shall do more of the consultation work.

In the same development, local political leader Rafael Wasan questioned why the Regional Development Council administers and allocates the autonomy budget and not agencies including the Cordillera Regional Assembly and the Cordillera Executive Board.

This, as RDC allocates and implements the P48 million autonomy drive to its discretion. While this is so, lawyer Nestor Atititiw, head of the Cordillera Bodong Administration questioned the legality of the Regional Development Council in implementing the autonomy drive.