LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. and Benguet Caretaker Congressman Eric Yap vowed to spearhead the re-filing of the long overdue bill seeking for the establishment of the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) in the 19th Congress and to lobby for its passage for the realization of the aspirations of the people for self-governance.
Yap, who was given by the province’s electorate the chance to serve as a full pledged district representative of Benguet, stated that now that he was voted to serve a legislative district which is a part of the Cordillera, he will work with other Cordillera Congress representatives for the refinement and the re-filing of the autonomy bill in the 19th Congress so that the desire of Cordillerans for self-determination will be realized during the next administration of Presumptive President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong” Marcos, Jr..
He claimed he supports the region’s desire to achieve autonomy because of the benefits to be derived by the region once most of the powers of the central government will be devolved to the regional government.
Yap, an adopted son of Benguet, pointed out that as a full pledged district representative, he already has the initiative to convene other Cordillera congressmen to fine tune the priority measures for the region that will be advanced in the upcoming Congress.
During the 18th Congress, the neophyte lawmaker filed House Bill (HB) 7778 that seeks to establish the CAR in support of HB 5687 filed by Cordillera Congress representatives with the very same purpose.
He agreed with autonomy advocates that the realization of self-governance will help in poverty alleviation in the region because of lesser restraint from central government as the autonomous regional government can implement its own programs, projects and activities, as well as craft policies that are applicable in the context of the region.
While he is not a member of any tribe or indigenous cultural community in the region, Yap asserted he embraced the culture and tradition of the indigenous peoples of Benguet since he was appointed as the legislative caretaker of the province and thus advocates also for the sustainable preservation of the rich culture and traditions of the indigenous peoples which should be passed on to the youth.
The 1987 Constitution provided for the establishment of autonomous regions in the Cordillera and Muslim Mindanao to allow these regions to manage and administer their respective regions.
However, it was only Mindanao that grabbed the opportunity provided by the Constitution with the establishment of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao which was later expanded with the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao with the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law in 2019.
