LAGAWE, Ifugao – The unified Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA) urged the Regional Development Council (RDC) and the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) to extend technical assistance to them to make representations with the national government for the possible renegotiation of the group’s 26-point demand which was the subject of the historic Mount Data ‘sipat’ executed by former President Corazon C. Aquino and former CPLA chairman and founder Fr. Conrado Balweg.
Abra Vice Governor and unified CPLA chairman Ronald Balao-as said some of the 26-point demand which paved the way for the realization of lasting peace in the region remain unfulfilled after over three decades, thus, it is but proper for both the CPLA and the government through the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace process to go back to the drawing board and assess the successes and failures of the nearly 32-year old peace accord and start working on doable solutions to address commitments that were not realized.
“We do not want that there will be people who will be left out even if they had been actual combatants in the past. We do not want that what happened during the previous administration, where most of our older combatants were left out in the controversial closure agreement, will be repeated by the present administration,” Vice governor Balao-as stressed.
He pointed out it was Presidential Peace Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza who opened up the discussions on the possible profiling of the unprofiled combatants and it will be best for all the concerned stakeholders to renegotiate the historic Mount Data peace agreement to address remaining concerns and issues unattended by the national government.
According to him, one of the major issues in the 26-point agenda of the CPLA is the realization of regional autonomy although the efforts are now gaining ground but there should be constant consultations initiated by both parties to guarantee the compliance of unfulfilled contents of the agreement.
It will be recalled that former President Cory Aquino and Fr. Balweg signed the historic Mount Data peace agreement on September 13, 1986 that paved the way for the issuance by the Chief Executive of Executive Order No. 220 that created the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) comprising the provinces of Abra, Benguet, Mountain Province and Baguio City from Region I and the provinces of Ifugao and Kalinga-Apayao from Region II.
Under the said order, the CAR is to administer the affairs of government in the region, facilitate the socio-economic development of the region and prepare the region for autonomy pursuant to the provisions of Section 15, Article 10 of the 1987 Constitution mandating the establishment of autonomous regions in the Cordillera and Muslim Mindanao to address the neglected state of development of the two regions depriving them of opportunities for growth and development.
By HENT
