Baguio-Benguet IPs join autonomy talks

By Gigi G. Estanoco

BAGUIO CITY – A consultation for the Indigenous Peoples Legislative Assembly in the Cordillera Administrative Region (IPLA-CAR) for regional autonomy in Benguet and Baguio City was headed by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP-CAR) and Cordillera Regional Development Council (RDC-CAR).

The activity was attended by around 120 indigenous peoples of Benguet and Baguio City.

This activity was a follow-through of the CAR Peace Conversations held  November 2017 where participants unanimously expressed support to the HB5343 but with reservations the proposed bill does not fully embody important issues of the Cordillera IPs in their quest for self-determination.

Thus provincial consultations are being held to gain grassroots support through a more inclusive process of consultation on autonomy among indigenous peoples.

“The Organic Act [HB5343] should be passed not to create positions for the politicians, not to create another layer of bureaucracy but to address and to correct all the historical and ongoing injustices and wrongdoings to the people of the Cordillera,” said Dept. of Justice Assistant Secretary Cheryl Daytec-Yangot.

                The consultation included a workshop for the participants to review and comment on the provisions of the house bill that directly affect IPs. Among participants, 32 were selected to represent the IPs of Baguio City and Benguet and to present the consultation’s results during the Regional Legislative Assembly to be held in Baguio City on November 22-24.

Similar consultations were held in Ifugao, Apayao, Mountain Province, Abra, and Kalinga from November 7-9.