BAGUIO CITY – Members of The Cordillera Connection Band (TCC) were gathered by the Cordillera Regional Development Council (RDC-CAR) and the Cordillera office of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA-CAR) during a one-day learning session on Cordillera autonomy last January 26, 2018.
This served as a preparatory activity for the succeeding concert-fora staged in Sagada on February 2 and in the provinces of Abra, Apayao and Baguio City this year. It also serves as an opportunity to improve the band’s understanding of the autonomy advocacy.
Autonomy IEC Speaker, Mr. Vladimir Cayabas discussed the basic concepts, history, three core messages and the salient features of Cordillera regional autonomy.
NEDA-CAR Regional Director Milagros A. Rimando thanked the members for their willingness to partner with the RDC in advancing the autonomy advocacy. “We need more of you,” Rimando said as she acknowledged their eagerness to learn more about the autonomy agenda.
TCC concluded the activity with a sneak peak of their original composition for autonomy entitled “United Cordillera” by Mr. Juan Jaymoh Javier and Ms. Jasmin T. Lapnawan. Javier further inspired his bandmates and added to their enthusiasm by saying, “Hindi mo kailangang maging Igorot o IP (indigenous people) para maging Cordilleran. Kaya proud akong maging Cordilleran” (You don’t have to be an Igorot or an IP to be considered a Cordilleran. That is why I am proud to be a Cordilleran).
The TCC Band is the lead band in the series of concert-fora on Cordillera autonomy which the RDC-CAR organized last year in the provinces of Benguet, Kalinga, Mountain Province and Ifugao. The TCC is a group of local artists composed of Margaret P. Locano, Juan Jaymoh Javier, Jayson Raras, Stephen Dalacan, Paul Kenneth Inocencio, Patrick Sarmiento, and Julious Clinton Morgan.
By Zenia P. Cadiogan