BAGUIO CITY – The Regional Development Council in the Cordillera (RDC-CAR) expressed support to the national government’s move towards federalism and requested its support for the pursuit of regional autonomy in the Cordillera.
RDC-CAR Resolution No. 043, series of 2016 stated the pursuit of autonomy for the Cordillera deserves equal attention and support from the national government as Muslim Mindanao has received and is receiving with the proposed creation of the Bangsamoro government.
“Considering the uniqueness of the region and its population, the RDC-CAR is hoping for an asymmetric type of federalism to best fit its situation,” the RDC-CAR resolution added.
The RDC-CAR recognized that federalism can strengthen local government units through the devolution of powers, responsibilities, and resources from the central government to the local governments, primarily the overall concept of autonomy which the region had been fighting for over the past three decades.
Since 2006, the Cordillera Regional Development Plan has considered regional autonomy as its overarching goal to which all development efforts and imperatives shall be directed as autonomy has been envisioned as the one factor that will propel economic growth and help move the people out from the shackles of poverty aside from spurring countryside development through inclusive growth.
The RDC-CAR also requested President Rodrigo R. Duterte to include representatives from the Cordillera as members of the proposed Constitutional Convention which is proposed to assist Congress as the Constituent Assembly to draft the new Constitution of the Philippines.
Further, the region’s policy-making body also requested President Duterte to support the RDC-CAR’s desire to be a standalone federal state should a federal government be adopted by the new or amended Constitution of the Philippines and for the President to support the enactment of the autonomy bill for the Cordillera region by certifying the measure as an urgent administration bill to guarantee its passage.
Executive Order No. 220 issued by former President Corazon C. Aquino on July 15, 1987, established the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) to administer the government affairs of the region, accelerate the economic and social growth and development of the units of the region and prepare for the establishment of the autonomous region in the Cordillera.
Section 15, Article X of the Philippine Constitution states that there shall be created autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and in the Cordilleras consisting of provinces, cities, municipalities and geographical areas sharing common and distinctive historical and cultural heritage, economic and social structures and other relevant characteristics within the framework of the Constitution and national sovereignty as well as territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines.
The RDC-CAR expressed optimism that the President will support the region’s renewed quest for regional autonomy because it is aligned with his priority to shift from the current presidential bicameral form to federal form of government that will guarantee optimum growth and development in the countryside.
By HENT
