TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Mountain Province Gov. Bonifacio Lacwasan, Jr. formally accepted the responsibility of the provincial government in spearheading the hosting of the 33rd founding anniversary of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) next year.
Lacwasan accepted the Unity Gong from Kalinga Gov. Ferdinand Tubban signaling the end of Kalinga’s hosting of the 32nd CAR founding anniversary and the start of Mountain Province’s preparations for next year’s celebration.
On the other hand, the Cordillera office of the Department of Public works and Highways (DPWH-CAR) which leads the infrastructure committee of the Regional Development Council (RDC) and this year’s co-host of the CAR founding anniversary celebration also turned over the hosting of the annual event to the Cordillera office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-CAR) as the co-host of Mountain Province for next year’s celebration.
“We will exert all efforts to replicate how Kalinga and the DPWH-CAR hosted this year’s CAR founding anniversary celebration. We will try to work on innovations to provide the necessary activities that will entice more people to visit Mountain Province during the celebration of our region’s anniversary,” Gov. Lacwasan stressed.
He pointed out that the provincial government will focus on the aggressive promotion of Mountain Province’s tourism potentials to help introduce to nature lovers different tourist attractions around the province for more tourists to go around the province to the beauty of nature bestowed on this landlocked province.
According to him, Mountain Province officials observed the successful hosting of Kalinga and the DPWH-CAR of this year’s CAR founding anniversary celebration and they will start from there in planning the activities for next year’s celebration, especially that the coveted autonomy law still remains unacted upon by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Lacwasan and Vice Gov. Francis Tauli led the delegation of Mountain Province during the 32nd CAR founding anniversary culminating program held at the Kalinga Sports Complex in Bulanao last July 15, 2019.
The RDC-CAR distributed to the different provinces and cities the hosting of the annual CAR founding anniversary celebration to give importance to the people from the different local governments comprising the region, aside from the week-long Unity Gong Relay, to avoid having regional activities only concentrated in Baguio city.
Moreover, the Unity Gong is circulated around the region to show that despite the diverse cultures and histories of the Cordillerans, they are still united in the quest for regional autonomy as enshrined in the pertinent provisions of the 1987 Constitution, the region’s ultimate vehicle in speeding development opportunities in the countryside.
In 1908, the Cordillera was known as the former old Mountain Province composed of 6 sub-provinces before it was divided into 4 independent provinces by virtue of Republic Act (RA) 4695 or the Division Law. By HENT
