BAUKO, Mountain Province – Siblings of the major players in the historic 1986 Mount Data ‘sipat’ or the cessation of armed hostilities challenged the Cordillera youth to advance the quest and strive hard for the realization of the long overdue clamor for autonomy.
Pag-asa Goldemir Balweg, the first daughter of the late Conrado Balweg who played a key role in the sealing of the historic peace agreement between the Cordillera Bodong Administration–Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CBA-CPLA) and the Philippine government under the leadership of the late President Corazon C. Aquino, stated that while it is Cordillerans today who are experiencing the benefits of peace, including the opportunities, the responsibility and the growth that peace brought to the region, it is the duty of the youth to honor the said legacy, ensure that peace thrives for future generations, among others.
“We are the future of peace, of progress of this region, we all love. The peace we celebrate was hard earned by those who came before us, and it is our task to carry it forward, embrace it, strengthen it and continue the work for building a Cordillera that is not just peaceful, but prosperous and united,” Balweg stressed.
She narrated that she was born in 1988, two years later than the historic Mount Data ‘sipat’ that unlike her father and the valiant men and women who sacrificed their lives in fighting for the region’s self-determination, she came into the world at a time of peace and that like the Cordillerans, she is reaping the benefits of the peace process and of the creation of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
Further, she pointed out that Fr. Balweg believed that Cordillerans are the collective lord of the land and master of history. Thus, his legacy is one for peace, dedicating much of his life in bringing the Cordillerans shared dream of lasting peace and autonomy into reality though, for many, this still seems elusive .
Balweg claimed that she and her siblings lost their dad in 1999, and 10 years later in 2009, she graduated and received her Bachelors’ degree in Communication as a scholar of the then Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace process (OPAPP), a year after they also lost their mom who was, at that time, also working alongside the OPAPP doing the works for the CPLA and for CAR.
Today, the younger Balweg is working for the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) under the Peace Sustainability Office and she had been privileged to receive the education and opportunities that only peace can make possible.
“As we observe the National Peace Consciousness and celebrate the anniversary of the 1986 Mount Data peace agreement, she reminded Cordillerans on the fundamental reasons behind these commemorations.
According to her, the CAR is supposedly a precursor to a regional autonomy status but after 38 years, many of those who fought for the region’s self-determination have passed on and still the fight for autonomy is not yet over.
“May we set aside our personal interests and instead strengthen our ongoing commitments and interventions to our genuine cause as one united region. We need to encourage and foster understanding and awareness about autonomy within our communities. Autonomy is not just a political issue but it is about self-determination, about ensuring that we, the people of the Cordilleras, have the power to shape our own future. It is about building on the peace we have secured and ensuring that our rights, culture, identity among others are fully recognized and respected,” Ms. Balweg emphasized. By Dexter A. See
