BAGUIO CITY– The House Committee on local government signified its intention to conduct the required hearings on House Bill (HB) 5687 that seeks to establish the Autonomous Region in the Cordillera (ARC) as an initial move to advance the proposed law in the lower chamber of Congress.
Milagros Rimando, regional director of the Cordillera office of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and vice-chairperson of the Regional Development Council (RDC), reported that the committee secretariat recently sent word to the RDC-CAR to prepare the related documents on the pending autonomy bill as one of the requirements prior to the determination of the schedule of the hearings on the bill pursuant to the procedures in the enactment of laws.
Rimando made the announcement to autonomy advocates during the 34th commemoration of the historic Mount Data ‘Sipat’ that was held at the New Town Plaza hotel last Sunday, September 13, 2020.
She pointed out that the scheduling of the proposed autonomy bill for hearings is a giant step towards the ongoing efforts to lobby for the immediate passage of the proposed law while working out the issuance by President Rodrigo Duterte of the required certification of the bill as a priority administration measure that will help in speeding up the action of both chambers on the long pending autonomy law.
In his message to the Cordillerans on the ‘Sipat’ anniversary, Tarlac 3rd District Rep. Noel Villanueva, chairman of the house committee on local government, gave his support to the clamor of the Cordillerans for self-governance and that the struggle of the people for self-rule is based on the legitimate peoples issues raised against the national government in the past.
He also recognized the overwhelming support shown by the different local governments and stakeholders in the region on the renewed quest for autonomy that will cap government’s peace initiatives in the north after completing the peace initiatives in the south through the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Kalinga Rep. Allen Jesse C. Mangaoang said the Cordillera representatives will coordinate with the leadership of the House Committee to ascertain the definite schedule of the hearings on the proposed autonomy law for them to attend and reiterate its immediate passage to realize the coveted autonomy of the Cordillerans before the President will step down from office by the middle of 2022.
Based on the data obtained from the RDC-CAR, the 7 provinces, 2 cities and 77 municipalities passed separate resolutions declaring their all-out support to HB 5687 and Senate Bill 1232 authored by Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri seeking for the establishment of the ARC pursuant to the pertinent provisions of the 1987 Constitution providing for the establishment of autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and the Cordillera.
By virtue of the Bangsamoro Organic Law that was enacted into law by President Duterte during the early years of his term, the BARMM was established to complete the government’s peace initiatives in the conflict-stricken Mindanao area. By HENT