BAGUIO
CITY-- Cordillera leaders have decided to "make a noise" and use
the current popularity of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) in pushing for their
region's own autonomy bid.
Regional
Development Council (RDC) Secretary and National Economic Development Authority
(NEDA) Assistant Regional Director Jedida Aquino said Cordillera officials have
lined up various activities for the months of August and September to get the
attention of Malacañang, the two chambers of Congress, and even the national
line agencies and garner their support for Cordillera's long-sought
self-determination or self-governance.
Aquino
said they have to "catch up" with the BOL and even anchor Cordillera
autonomy bid on this.
One
move the upland leaders are planning to do is to request President Rodrigo
Duterte to declare the Cordillera autonomy bills pending in both the Senate and
the House of Representatives as priority and "urgent" bills.
These
are House Bill 5343 and Senate Bill 1678, which both seek the establishment of
an autonomous region of the Cordilleras.
“The
next two months will be very important because October will already be the
filing of candidacy for the next election,” Aquino said Thursday.
She
said “noisy” and “drumming up” activities have been lined up as part of the
upstream effort to boost the authorities' appreciation.
This
came after Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) Undersecretary Ryan
Estevez urged the region's leaders on Monday (July 30) to take advantage of the
popularity of the BOL in pushing for the passage of the Cordillera organic act,
which would transform it into an autonomous region.
“The
timing of the advocacy is very critical," Esteves said during a workshop
with the Cordillera RDC committee called Social Preparation of Cordillera
Administrative Region (SPCAR).
"This
is the right time for us to push for this bill for Cordillera kasi
pag lumampas na itong BOL na ito, I don’t
think magiging interesting pa for the entire country
(because if the BOL popularity has died down, I don’t think [Cordillera
autonomy] would still be interesting for the entire country). It’s very very
important for you because we might be sidelined, so this is the right time for
us to do this.”
The
Bangsamoro and the Cordillera’s clamor for autonomous region status are both
anchored on Section 15 of Article 10 of the 1987 Constitution, which states:
“There shall be created autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and in the
Cordilleras consisting of provinces, cities, municipalities, and geographical
areas sharing common and distinctive historical and cultural heritage,
economic, and social structures, and other relevant characteristics within the
framework of this Constitution and the national sovereignty, as well as
territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines.”
Esteves
briefed the SPCAR about the factors in lobbying for an advocacy.
He said
knowing and getting champions in both chambers of Congress to push for the bill
matter.
“Dapat
may influence (they should have influence) and also the leaders. Do not just go
lobbying, but also design activities that will influence the public officials,
legislators, supporters.”
“Kailangan
natin mag-ingay para mapansin tayo (We need to make a noise so they will
notice us),” he told members of SPCAR, which is multisectoral, including local
government units, non-government organizations, regional government line
agencies, and other stakeholders.
On
various occasions, Baguio Mayor and RDC chairman Mauricio Domogan had stressed
that the signing of the BOL is beneficial to the Cordillera, as both regions'
clamor for self-determination is based on the same Constitutional provision.
The
creation of the Cordillera as a region came about following an indigenous peace
agreement, “the Mount Data Sipat agreement” between the government under the
late President Corazon Aquino and rebel priest Conrado Balweg. The agreement
led to the laying down of arms of the Cordillera’s armed groups. -- PNA
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