BONTOC, Mountain Province – The provincial government and the Regional Development Council in the Cordillera (RDC-CAR) will assess situation in the whole region before coming out with a decision on whether or not to pursue the activities lined up for the celebration of the 33rd Founding Anniversary of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
Gov. Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr. said that the RDC-CAR and the province will decide on the fate of this year’s CAR Founding Anniversary celebration by the end of this month or by the first week of June after having considered the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation in the whole region.
He added that it is too early to come out with a decision on whether or not to pursue the activities of the founding anniversary celebration because of possible occurrence of untoward incidents that might affect the conduct of the scheduled activities which have yet to be finalized by the members of the assigned committees.
CAR will be celebrating its 33rd Founding Anniversary on July 15, 2020 with Mountain Province as the host local government for the week-long activities that will be scheduled prior to the main program that will be held on the day that the special administrative region was founded.
Lacwasan pointed out that organizers will have to await the latest trends on the COVID-19 situation in the region after the lifting of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Baguio and Benguet and the prevailing general community quarantine (GCQ) in Abra, Apayao, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province to properly guide them in their decision.
Of the six provinces, one chartered city and one component city, Apayao, Kalinga and Mountain Province remain to be COVID-free, while Baguio registered 30 cases, Benguet 9 cases, Abra with 3 cases and Ifugao with only a single COVID case.
The governor admitted that the implementation of the ECQ has significantly impacted almost all sectors not only in the province but also in most parts of the country with displacement from work of millions of Filipinos, the virtual stoppage of economic activities and the stagnation of the overall economy.
According to him, the provincial government and the RDC-CAR will consult stakeholders on expected outcomes of this year’s CAR founding anniversary celebration for them to input on the final decision on the holding of celebrations for the founding day.
On July 15, 1987, former President Corazon C. Aquino issued Executive Order (EO) No. 220 that created the CAR bringing together the provinces of Abra, Benguet, Mountain Province and Baguio City from Region I and the provinces of Ifugao and Kalinga-Apayao from Region II.
The issuance of the EO was an offshoot of the peace agreement entered between the Philippine government and the Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA) on September 13, 1986 at the historic Mount Data hotel in Bauko, Mountain Province.
By HENT
