TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Surviving witnesses of the historic Mount Data ‘sipat’ or the exchange of peace tokens by the Cordillera Bodong Administration–Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CBA-CPLA) and the Philippine government believe that the achievement of the autonomous status of the Cordillera will completely close the peace agreement.
Engr. Andres Ngao-i, CBA chairman, said that one of the major agreements that was reached by both parties during the Mount Data ‘sipat’ is the grant of autonomy in the Cordillera as a vehicle to effectively and efficiently address the legitimate peoples’ issues that were the root cause of the armed struggle that lasted for decades.
Ngao-i, who was one of the witnesses of the ‘sipat,’ stated that the Cordillerans were able to fulfill their obligation under the peace agreement to unify for the region’s quest for autonomy and the ball is now in the hands of the government to grant the desired self-governance that will allow the development of the region according to the culture and traditions of the indigenous peoples.
The CBA official claimed that autonomy is the ultimate solution in addressing the issues and concerns against the failure of the central government to listen to the plight of the indigenous peoples in the countryside on matters governing the exploitation, utilization and development of the resources in the ancestral domains which they had preserved and protected for several generations that had passed.
He stipulated that the commemoration of the 34th anniversary of the historic Mount Data ‘sipat’ on Sunday, September 13, 2020 should remind Cordillera leaders, especially the lawmakers, to facilitate the immediate passage of the autonomy bill pending in both chambers of Congress, to help advance the clamor of the people for self-rule.
The Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Cordillera and the Cordillera office of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA-CAR) will commemorate the 34th anniversary of the ‘sipat with a simple but meaningful program to be held at the Grand Ballroom of the New Town Hotel which will be attended by autonomy advocates, Cordillera leaders and concerned stakeholders who believe on the long standing peaceful struggle for autonomy.
On his part, Sadanga Mayor Gabino Ganggangan stressed that the annual commemoration of the ‘sipat should now be elevated to greater heights to remind both parties to work hard and realize their commitment to be partners in the establishment of the autonomous region for the benefit of the present and future generation of Cordillerans.
Ganggangan, who was the youngest member of the secretariat, asserted that Cordillerans must now put the pressure on the national government to work out the passage of the proposed autonomy bill to be signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte who earlier committed his support for the establishment of the autonomous region that will complete the government’s peace initiatives in the north as the put up of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) completed the obligation of the government in terms of achieving peace in the south.
By Hent
Banner photo: 34th Sipat Day celabration on September 13, 2020 at New Town Plaza Hotel,by Rosalioa T. See