P260 million package subject to gov’t accounting: P-Noy-CPLA ‘closure’ deal backed by peace advocates

By Gina Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain Province -- Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army leader Arsenio Humiding and his closure agreement with President Aquino as an initiative of peace for CPLA to cease its armed image and turn into an economic force has gained support among ‘bodong’ peace pact holders of Kalinga, Abra, and some binodngan parts of Mountain Province.

This was bared by peace advocate and former mayor Thomas Killip of this tourist town who joined other peace advocates to the 25th anniversary of the ‘sipat’ (cessation of hostilities) entered between the CPLA led by its founder rebel priest ConradoBalweg and former President Corazon Aquino Sept. 13, 1986.

The anniversary was commemorated at Mt. Data in Bauko, Mountain Province.

Killip, also is an adviser of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process said the closure agreement is best implemented with the initiative of Humiding for the government to provide livelihood assistance to affected Cordillera communities.

Said memorandum of agreement as stamped in the President’s Administrative Order 49 is currently under review as instructed by President Aquino following a petition from the Cordillera’s Regional Development Council calling for a review of said agreement in response to a petition forwarded by CPLA faction leaders Michael Sugguiyao and Cordillera Bodong Administration chairman Andres Ngao-i questioning ArsenioHumiding’s legitimacy.

Ngao-I and Sugguiyao said the closure agreement was only economic appeasement and derailed the essence of autonomy which was the intent of the ‘sipat’ between former President Corazon Aquino and Balweg.

While the closure agreement between the CPLA’sHumiding group and the government is being eyed for another agreement following opposition from other factions of the CPLA like the Sugguiyao group, the financial package dangled for the closure agreement apparently still stays good.

Sheryl Datinguinoo, projects development officer of the OPAPP said the P260 million represents an indicative figure and open to proposals from interested groups.

Eighty five percent of the amount shall be devoted to livelihood projects for the community wherein funds shall be channeled to the respective agency who shall be doing the concerned community project.

If it is a health project, the funds shall be channeled to the department of health and its related units following regular accounting and disbursing procedures of the government, Datinguinoo said.

The economic package is projected to be dispensed over a five year period.

Interviewed here at Radyo Sagada, Datinguinoo said 18% of the package fund shall be directly provided for livelihood projects to the CPLA which shall transform itself into a nongovernment or people’s organization.

Mountain Province Gov. Leonard Mayaen, said he didn’t care much about who implements the P260 million as long as the funds are used for what it is intended for and follow regular accounting and disbursing procedures of the government.

Mountain Province gets P59 million of the economic deal where P51million is allotted for Sadanga, P7 million to Bontoc and P1 million to Paracelis.

The rest of the P260 million goes to the rest of 57 barangays of Kalinga, Ifugao, Abra, and Apayao aside from Mountain Province where there are CPLA members or which have CPLA operations.

Asked whether other barangays which don’t have CPLA presence shall also benefit, the OPAAP projects development officer said other villages will also benefit via inter-barangay linkages such as building of roads and bridges.

Datinguinoo said development funds represent the “dividend” of the people’s struggles having been part of a war for years which wrought havoc to their communities.

In a separate press conference, Vice Mayor Richard Yodong asked OPAPP for an update of the resolution which the respective Sangguniang Bayan submitted to OPAPP September last year, requesting support for community projects in furtherance to OPAPP’s program on providing aid to communities having conflict with peace.

Sagada suffered the atrocities of war between the New People’s Army and the military government forces with two minors killed in the crossfire in 1989 .

Due to said incident, the community of Sagada declared that Sagada be demilitarized and forwarded a petition addressed to both the military and the NPA, the office of the president of the Philippines, which eventually landed in the offices of the Coalition for Peace and the Peace Commission .

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon then sponsored Senate bill 435 declaring Sagada as a peace zone along with seven special development areas of the Philippines following a conference by the National Unification Commission in May 1993.