Federal state detrimental to Cordillera dev’t, says mayor

BAGUIO CITY – The inclusion of the Cordillera in the proposed Federal State of Northern Luzon as part of the proposals included in the bid to amend the 1987 Philippine Constitution will be detrimental to the speedy development of the region once it becomes autonomous.

This was underscored by Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan, chairman of the Third Autonomy Drafting Committee, citing the inclusion of the Cordillera to two big regions will be a repeat of the previous experience when the local governments comprising the administrative region were parts of Regions I and II.

Being part of a federal state with a much smaller population and smaller land area, Domogan stressed, will result to the region having a lesser share from the distribution of resources which will eventually result to snail-paced development considering that the region will again be eaten up by the big regions in its company in the proposed federal state.

Instead, the local chief executive stressed the best way for the Cordillera to achieve its desired pace of development is gaining an autonomous status considering that it will not loose its existing powers and benefits, especially among local governments, plus the grant of a substantial subsidy from the national government which the region and the local governments could not enjoy in a regular region.

According to him, joining the proposed federal state is just going back to the old situation where the Cordillera will again be left out in terms of development because of its limited population and land area which is the basis in the distribution of the national government’s resources.

Under an autonomous set up, he explained, the regional government will have greater control of the region’s resources which could be utilized to chart its development with lesser restraint from outside forces, thus, there will be faster pace of development, especially with the definition where the subsidy will go.

Considering that the Cordillera has been struggling for autonomous status for over 24 years now, the Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Cordillera, in 2006, has made autonomy its overarching agenda to jumpstart regional development in order to help improve the lives of people in the rural areas.

Domogan asserted autonomy is a tool for development which will benefit the present and future generations of Cordillerans who will benefit from the development that will be brought about by the subsidy to be provided by the national government for the autonomous region once the people will accept the third autonomy law to be passed by Congress.

Domogan warned the failure of the region to avail of the constitutional provision mandating the establishment of an autonomous region in the Cordillera might result to the aforesaid provision be stricken out of the Constitution in case charter change will push through which will result to the region loosing its chance to acquire autonomous status to chart its development to the fullest for the benefit of the coming generations. -- Dexter A. See