BAGUIO CITY – The Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Cordillera crafted a three-year road map for the social preparation of the Cordillera into an autonomous region to boost the region’s renewed quest for autonomy and self-governance.
Milagros A. Rimando, RDC-CAR vice chairman and regional director of the Cordillera office National Economic Development Authority (NEDA-CAR), said the targets of the road map is for a rapid transition to a new Constitution under a federal government, increased awareness on regional autonomy and reduce the percentage of undecided Cordillerans to believe on the renewed quest for autonomy.
Further, the RDC-CAR wants to advance the new draft of the autonomy in both the House of Representatives and Senate coupled with the aggressive information education campaign with focus on the contents of the proposed autonomy law and federalism.
She added the RDC-CAR also intends to complete the historical mapping and parking which was earlier started to be able to educate the younger generations on the significance of the identified historical sites in the different parts of the region.
Rimando explained there are three scenarios considering Executive Order No. 10, series of 2016 that created a Consultative Committee to review the 1987 Constitution which includes the rapid transition within three to four years, moderate transition within 5 to 6 years and slow transition within 7 years or longer.
According to her, of these, the most likely course of events will be a rapid transition to a federal form of government as the committee may complete its report in the middle of 2017, Congress may approve the new Constitution in the middle of 2018 and a plebiscite may be conducted within 2019.
She claimed the plebiscites may result to the ratification of the new Constitution in 2019 and the crafting of the mode on how to divide the states will be done.
On the other hand, Rimando is optimistic that the bill will be filed by the Cordillera congressmen the soonest and that the same will be enacted into law by the middle of next year so that the information education campaign will be done up to tne end of next year.
She said the RDC-CAR wants the plebiscite to be done in the later part of 2018 so that those provinces and cities that will vote for the put up of the autonomous region will elect the officials of the regional government in time for the 2019 mid-term elections.
The draft autonomy bill is being finalized by the technical working group upon the request of Cordillera lawmakers before the filing of the proposed law in the House of Representatives to be able to achieve the target.
Cordillera congressmen agreed to file the proposed autonomy bill after the final review to be undertaken by the TWG so that if the autonomy law will be passed right in time for the prescribed target, it will be the people of the region that will decide whether or not their respective provinces and cities will join the autonomous region or the said local governments will be going back to their original regions. Autonomy advocates believe the establishment of an autonomous region will be the ultimate remedy that will help move the people out from the shackles of poverty because the regional government will have greater control of the resources in the region with lesser restraint from outside forces. By HENT
