RDC sets webinars on IP concerns, autonomy

By Marlo Lubguban

BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera Regional Development Council committee on indigenous people’s concerns approved series of webinars on indigenous peoples’ rights, culture, arts, and autonomy during the Indigenous Peoples’ Month this October.

    The webinar series shall serve as a platform to discuss issues confronting IPs in the region.
    These will address several issues raised repeatedly through the committee such as issues and misappropriation of Cordillera attire, indigenous intellectual property and misinformation on Igorots in basic education textbooks.
    The webinars will also serve as a forum to generate inputs for policy recommendations to better address these issues, especially with the ongoing advocacy for on the region’s self-determination through the establishment of the Autonomous Region of the Cordillera.
    The webinars are planned to be one to two hours long every week in October in celebration of the 23 years of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997.
    It will feature panelists from both the government and private sectors as well as the academe.
    The CIPC is chaired by National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) regional director Manuel Jaramilla and co-chaired by RDC private sector representative for the indigenous peoples sector, Ryan Mangusan.
    The committee will discuss indigenous peoples’ concerns such as the Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSPP), Minahang Bayan applications, ending the local communist armed conflict, cultural representation in performance, folk arts, crafts and industries, Cordillera autonomy, among others.
    This, as the RDC passed a resolution creating the Regional Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pagasa (BP2) support committee with Dept. of Agriculture Secretary and Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) for the Cordillera William Dar as chairperson.
    This will address the national government’s BP2 program,
    The BP2 support committee functions as the regional counterpart of the national BP2 council which implements executive order 114 “Institutionalizing The Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-Asa  Program as A Pillar of Balanced Regional Development, Creating A Council Therefor, and for Other Purposes.”
    The BP2 implements proposal to decentralize wealth, resources and opportunities from the National Capital Region and other congested metropolitan areas to the other, less dense, and less concentrated areas of the country.
    Its implementation was fast-tracked and changed due to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic which exposed the vulnerability of congested, high-density metropolises to disease outbreaks and pandemics.
    NEDA-CAR Regional Director and RDC vice-chair Milagros Rimando said this program was in line with the Cordillera Regional Development Plan as well as the Philippine Development Plan.
    DTI regional director and RDC economic development committee chairperson Myrna Pablo said agencies must ensure proper allocation in their respective budgets to address services to returning citizens.
    DILG regional director Marlo Iringan said chief executives of LGUs must be active members of the committee as they are at the forefront of handling the localized BP2 program.
    RDC chairperson and Abra Gov. Joy Bernos said LGUs and the private sector will feel impact of BP2.
    Benguet League of Municipalities president and Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said the region must implement its own measures.
    Economic centers like Baguio City and Itogon, among others in the Cordillera, host people who came from other provinces with the intention of finding better working opportunities.
    Palangdan cited small scale miners of Itogon who came from Ifugao, Kalinga, and other places who have been stranded and unable to go home due to the pandemic.
    The BP2 committee will formulate an action plan with the participation of both government and non-government organizations.
    The committee will also provide guidance to the LGUs and promote market investment in the region.
    Key areas of focus are boosting local industries, food security, agricultural productivity, social welfare, health, employment, human resources development, and infrastructure development.

    Regional Cordillera officials said support for autonomy was increasing and advocates were calling for more national attention.

    The CLG Chairman said Cordillera autonomy is an existing promise by the national government to the people of the Cordillera.

    This promise was agreed upon through the indigenous Bodong done in 1986 through the Mt. Data Sipat Peace Accord and embodied in the 1987 Constitution.

    Among the growing number of supporters were Senator Bong Go, House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon who gave their messages of support during the 34th Sipat Anniversary commemoration.