P15 million autonomy IEC fund ready for 2016

BANAUE, Ifugao – Some P15 million dedicated for the revitalized autonomy information and education campaign (IEC) has been made available in the budget of the Cordillera Regional Development Council (RDC-CAR) in order to cascade to the grassroots level the true essence of autonomy for Cordillerans.
Milagros A. Rimando, regional director of the Cordillera office of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA-CAR) and RDC-CAR vice chairperson, said of the said amount, more than P5.8 million will be used for program management, alliance and capability building activities to beef up the renewed pursuit for regional autonomy which is one of the major projects of the region’s policy-making body.
On the other hand, she revealed that 9.15 million will be used to fund various IEC efforts by the different local governments, private sector partners and civil society organizations that include the religious groups for the RDC-CAR to be able to engage the active participation of people in the autonomy bandwagon.
“We have to squeeze numerous activities in the minimal fund that had been made available for our renewed pursuit for regional autonomy. We do not have the luxury of funds in order to accommodate all commendable proposals but we are doing our best to partner with other groups in order to broaden the coverage of our IEC efforts,” Rimando stressed.
Of the 9.15 million IEC fund, the NEDA-CAR official cited some P1.45 million will be used to fund the various activities that have been lined up for the month-long celebration of the 29 Cordillera month by July next year while some of the funds will be used to sustain the tri-media campaign on autonomy.
According to her, more or less P5 million will be left for the grassroots campaign on autonomy with its new focus of barangay-based consultations, especially in the Abra and Mountain Province where there are barangays with very high unawareness on the renewed pursuit for regional autonomy.
It can be recalled that in 2006, the RDC-CAR embraced autonomy as its overarching agenda because it was seen as the region’s vehicle to spur economic development after it was found out that the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) had always been receiving the least share of the resources from the national government and that it was viewed as that one that will move the people out from the shackles of poverty.
Rimando spoke before dozens of IEC and alliance building partners of the RDC-CAR during their assessment seminar which was held at the Banaue Hotel here over the past several days.
She appealed to the IEC and alliance building partners to sustain the aggressive campaign on autonomy for them to be able to convince more people to join and vote in favor of autonomy once the bill will be passed by Congress and it will be signed into law in the future.