BAGUIO CITY – Malacañang recently declared Friday, September 13, 2024 as a special non-working day in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) in celebration of the 38th anniversary of the historic Mount Data ‘sipat’ or the exchange of peace tokens between the Cordillera Bodong Administration – Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CBA-CPLA) and the Philippine government that ended the armed conflict in the region.
Under Proclamation No. 672 signed by Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin by authority of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., on August 29, 2024, it is but fitting and proper that the people of the Cordillera be given full opportunity to actively participate in the important occasion and the program that had been prepared to celebrate the ‘sipat; anniversary.
In September 13, 1986, former President Corazon C. Aquino met with the CBA-CPLA representatives under the leadership of former rebel priest Conrado Balweg that ended in the ‘sipat’ or exchange of peace tokens that resulted in the cession of armed hostilities and to acknowledge their aspiration and struggle for autonomy.
During the negotiations between the government peace panel and their counterparts, the CBA-CPLA presented to the government their 26-point demand that included the establishment of the autonomous region.
The clamor for autonomy compelled the government to include in the provisions of the 1987 Constitution the mandated establishment of autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and the Cordillera.
While awaiting the establishment of the autonomous region, President 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 CAR was empowered to perform the functions of the government in the region, accelerate the socio-economic development of the region and prepare the region for autonomy considering that it is a special temporary administrative region.
However, the two Organic Acts, Republic Act (RA) 6766 and RA 8438 that sought to establish the autonomous region which were enacted by Congress, were overwhelmingly rejected by the people during the plebiscites that were scheduled last January 30, 1990 and March 7, 1998, respectively. Only Ifugao voted in favor of the first Organic Act while Apayao voted in favor of the second Organic At.
On September 13, 2024, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unification (OPAPRU) lined up a series of events to commemorate the historic Mount Data ‘sipat’ which will be held at the compound of the Mount Data hotel in Bauko, Mountain Province.
Leonardo Bun-as, the lone surviving signatory and surviving witnesses to the 1986 Mount Data ‘sipat’ are expected to join Cordillera official during the said celebration to reiterate the long standing clamor for autonomy and for President Marcos to certify the pending autonomy bills in Congress as a priority administration measure to guarantee its enactment and for the realization of the government’s long overdue promise of self-determination to the Cordillera.
CBA-CPLA is working out the conduct of various activities that will send the clear message to Malacañang to already fulfill the promised autonomy for the Cordillera before the end of the President’s term. By Dexter A. See
