BAGUIO CITY – The Duterte-backed IPEACE Epanaw Party-list rallied the indigenous peoples (IPs) in Northern and Central Luzon to support the aspiration of the organization to earn the needed seats in the House of Representatives in the upcoming May 9, 2022 synchronized national and local elections to advocate and advance the upliftment of the situation of IPs.
Former regional director Marlon Bosantog of the Cordillera office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP-CAR), who is the second nominee of the IPEACE Epanaw Party-list group, pointed out that while Republic Act (RA) 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) already protects the rights of the IPs over their land and resources, IPs remain vulnerable and marginalized because of evident lapses by concerned government agencies to consider the their plight.
He claimed that one of the major thrusts of the party-list group is to appropriately advance the greater interest of the IPs in policy-making and decision-making processes so that the programs, projects and activities crafted by concerned government agencies will holistically cater to the needs of the greater majority of the country’s populace for the realization of genuine growth and development in the countryside.
The IPEACE Epanaw Party-list second nominee stated that one of the bills that the group will help advance is the establishment of the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) which is part of the government’s thrust to decentralize the powers of the central government to the local governments that will allow the spread of growth and development from Metro Manila to the different regions around the country.
Currently, the population of the Cordillera is over 92 percent IPs but the region has been deprived by the national government of the opportunities for development as bulk of the government resources are infused to fund big ticket projects in populated regions like Central Luzon, National Capital Region (NCR) and Southern Tagalog areas.
Bosantog agreed with the contention of autonomy advocates that self-rule will allow the regional government to move people out of the shackles of poverty and will guarantee optimum development primarily because of lesser restraint from outside forces.
The IPEACE Epanaw Party-list group is listed as No. 171 in the order of party-list organizations that had been allowed by the Commission on Election (Comelec) to run for the available seats earmarked under the Party-list System Act in the upcoming May 9, 2022 synchronized national and local elections where it aims to advance the interest of IPs in governance.
Earlier, Bosantog was also publicly endorsed by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte who expressed his support to his aspiration to bring genuine change, thus, the Chief Executive solicited the support to help him achieve his goal in the May polls.
Bosantog’s parents come from Bauko, Mountain Province and Buguias, Benguet and he completed his basic education through the public education system and acquired higher education from a Catholic-run institution in the city.