BANAUE, Ifugao – The Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Cordillera cited the municipalities of La Trinidad, Benguet and Lagawe, Ifugao for adopting local initiatives that contributed in cascading the autonomy information and education campaign to the grassroots level and increase the awareness of their constituents in the clamor for self-governance.
Milgaros A. Rimando, RDC-CAR vice chairperson and regional director of the Cordillera office of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA-CAR), said La Trinidad was able to access over P480,000 from this year’s autonomy information and education campaign fund which they were able to use in their barangay-based consultations and information campaign to cascade to the grassroots level the true essence of autonomy for the present and future generations.
Aside from the 16 barangays where consultations were conducted, the municipal autonomy task force will also conduct information and education campaign in the different sectors to reach as many people as possible and for them to understand what autonomy would mean for the people once the autonomous region will be established.
Mayor Edna C. Tabanda admitted it was very difficult for the local officials and members of the IEC team to address the fears of the people in the establishment of the autonomous region but it turned out to be enlightening in the end because the fears were eventually converted into positive insights on the renewed pursuit for self-governance.
“We have to increase the participation of our barangays and municipalities in our intensified autonomy IEC efforts so that we will be able to reach more people and inform them of the benefits that autonomy will bring to the region in the future,” Rimando stressed.
In the case of Lagawe, lawyer Evelyn Donoan, pointed out that she was surprised over the individual and collective efforts of barangay leaders and municipal officials on their aggressiveness in volunteering their services to lecture on important facets of autonomy that would be applicable to the case of the region.
According to her, the voluntarism of municipal officials and employees and barangay leaders to contribute their efforts in informing the people on the third attempt for regional autonomy showcases the unique personality of Cordillerans in contributing their efforts for the realization of a larger thing which is the establishment of the desired autonomous region.
She pointed out the organization of separate IEC teams composed of volunteers from various sectors and assigned specific topics to discuss is likely to succeed because they want the realization of the autonomous region which has been deemed as the only mode of governance that will address the under development of the local governments comprising the region among others.
By Dexter A. See
