BAGUIO CITY – Malacanang recently declared Monday, July 15, 2024 as a special non-working day in the Cordillera Administrative Region (Car) in time for the celebration of its 37th founding anniversary.
Proclamation No. 589, series of 2024 signed by Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin by authority of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. stated that it is but fitting and proper that the people of the CAR will be given full opportunity to actively participate in the occasion and enjoy the celebration.
The CAR’s 37th founding anniversary program on July 15, 2024 will be hosted by Abra with President Marcos being initially considered as the guest of honor and speaker.
Earlier, Kalinga Rep. Allen Jesse C. Mangaoang suggested to the Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Cordillera to consider as one of the lined up activities for this year’s celebration of CAR’s founding anniversary a series of upstream lobby events with the Senate and the office of the President to drumbeat the clamor for the establishment of the autonomous region so that the same will be given appropriate attention by the concerned authorities.
CAR was founded pursuant to the provisions of the 1987 Constitution that mandated the establishments of autonomous regions in the Cordillera and Muslim Mindanao.
While exercising both executive and legislative powers under the revolutionary government right after the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, former President Corazon C. Aquino issued Executive Order (EO) 220 that brought together the provinces of Abra, Benguet, Mountain Province and Baguio City from Region I or the Ilocos Region and the provinces of Ifugao and Kalinga-Apayao from Region II or the Cagayan Valley to compose the CAR.
Under the said order, the CAR had three main functions which is to administer the affairs of the government in the region, accelerate the socio-economic development of the region and more importantly, to prepare the region for autonomy.
Activities for this year’s CAR founding anniversary are expected to kick off next month until the main program scheduled on July 15, 2024 in Bangued, Abra.
Last year, President Marcos was supposed to be the guest of honor and speaker during the Car 36th founding anniversary program held in Luna, Apayao but he was not able to make it due to the prevalence of bad weather condition.
Congressman Mangaoang earlier underscored that it is important for Cordillerans to bring the upstream lobby to the national scene to show to the President and the senators that we are united in clamoring the establishment of the proposed autonomous region to allow the Cordillera to catch up with the pace of development of other regions because the regional government will be able to craft programs and policies that are suitable to the peculiar situation of the region among others.
During the 18th Congress, the proposed autonomy law was passed by the House of Representatives on third and final reading on May 30, 2022 and was transmitted to the Senate the following day but it was already overtaken by the adjournment of the third regular session.
At present, House Bill (HB) 3267 authored by all Cordillera congressmen that seeks to establish the Cordillera Autonomous Region is now pending with the A House committee on appropriations after being passed upon by the House committees on local government and ways and means. By Dexter A. See