Baguio City – The Office of the President declared Friday, September 13, 2019, as a special non-working holiday in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) to allow the celebration of the 33rd anniversary of the signing of the Mt. Data Sipat or Peace Agreement. Proclamation 802, series 2019 signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea declared the said day as a special non-working holiday in CAR to give Cordillerans a chance to celebrate the historical event with the appropriate ceremonies.
On September 13, 1986, Former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino and former rebel priest Conrado Balweg of the Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA) signed the historic Mt. Data Sipat at the Mt. Data Hotel in Bauko, Mountain Province that paved the end of the armed hostilities between government forces and the CPLA.
As a result of said peace agreement, President Cory Aquino issued Executive Order No. 220 on July 15, 1987 that created the CAR composed of the provinces of Abra, Benguet, MP and Baguio City from Region 1 and Ifugao, Kalinga, and Apayao from Region 2.
By Dexter See
