Apayao to participate in tedious autonomy process

By Dexter A. See

LUNA, Apayao – Gov. Elias C. Bulut, Jr. urged provincial constituents to actively participate in activities being undertaken by government in relation to renewed quest for regional autonomy to prevent the breakup of the Cordillera region.

Apayao provincial and municipal officials led by  Bulut received the Cordillera Unity Gong from their Kalinga counterparts led by Gov. Jocel Baac during the turnover ceremony here Wednesday.

The passing on of the unity gong among local governments comprising the Cordillera Administrative Region is part of the activities lined up by the Regional Development Council in the Cordillera to celebrate the region’s silver anniversary .

The Apayao contingent led by Bulut will be turning over the unity gong to Baguio City officials led by Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan on July 14, 2012 prior to the celebration of the region’s anniversary which will be held at the Baguio Convention Center.

 “Let us maximize our participation in the processes being done to strengthen our position in making sure that our concerns will be included in the autonomy bill before it will be passed by Congress,” Bulut told the over 800 individuals from various sectors of the province who attended the information and education campaign on the region’s renewed quest for self-governance.

According to him, the quest for regional autonomy is not farfetched if Cordillerans will simply follow the right path towards self-rule in order to achieve the region’s permanent identity and will allow Cordillerans to have greater control of the available resources to guarantee the overall development of the region in the coming years.

Apayao was the lone province in the Cordillera that ratified the second autonomy law when presented to the Cordillera people for ratification during the March 7, 1998 plebiscite.

Although the issue on autonomy died after the rejection of the second autonomy law, Bulut said the third attempt towards achieving an autonomous status for the region must be taken seriously not only by the leaders but also the people since it will be the one that will dictate the overall development thrust of the region in the coming years admitting that most parts of the Cordillera are already lagging behind in terms of infrastructure development.

Bulut claimed the target is for all the six provinces and the City of Baguio will be able to join the autonomous region to give justice to the constitutional provision mandating the creation of autonomous regions in Muslim Midanao and the Cordillera to prevent the region from eventual din-integration which is not the spirit of the law.