|
AS the drumbeat for an enlarged Autonomous Muslim Region or a
Bangsamoro Juridical Entity grows louder in Mindanao, the Lumad
people have begun to press Malacañang for self-rule. Other
minorities in Mindanao, and the Visayas are eyeing
self-determination, spurred by the demands of the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front and worried by possibilities that a Bangsamoro
entity would swallow up Mindanao’s teeming ethnics.
Somnolence, ironically, drapes the hills and
valleys of the Cordillera region, where a home-grown liberation army
challenged the Corazon Aquino administration in the 1980s. Guerilla
power drew strength from native pride in the Cordillerans’
history, culture, faith, traditions and civilization. Recognizing
the region’s potential for prosperity, leadership and the growth
of its political institutions, the framers of the 1987 Constitution
voted to grant Muslim Mindanao and the Cordillera self-autonomy
consistent with their history and aspirations.
The Cordillera hinterland—which includes the
provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao and
Kalinga, and the City of Baguio—have failed two times to create
the Cordillera Autonomous Region. In the first referendum on January
30, 1990, Ifugao was the only province to vote for self-rule. In the
second plebiscite on March 7, 1998, only Apayao province chose
autonomy.
There are few milestones in the Cordillera’s
quest for limited freedom. One was the termination of the war in
1986 between the Philippine Government and the Cordillera People’s
Liberation Army led by rebel-priest Conrado Balweg. A year later
President Aquino signed Executive Order 220, creating the Cordillera
Administrative Region, a poor substitute for a full-blown autonomous
jurisdiction. The head of the National Economic Development
Authority regional office chairs the CAR.
Politics, jurisdictional disputes, parochial
interests and poor leadership have derailed efforts at achieving
self-rule. In the two referendums, lack of information and
discussion on the pluses and minuses of self-government also failed
to sway the Cordillerans to stamp their approval.
The pro-autonomy lobby is pushing for the
unification of the Cordillera under one constitutional tent, even
under a federal system. It is interesting that under the resolution
introduced by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. in the Senate, the
Cordillera Autonomous Region, Region 1 and Region 2 are proposed to
become the Federal State of Northern Luzon.
Representatives Mauricio Domogan of Baguio City
and Samuel Dangwa of Benguet have restarted the bandwagon for an
autonomous Cordillera Region. In a recent meeting with regional
office chiefs in Manila, they asked Malacañang to support a new
information drive with fresh money. A third plebiscite on autonomy
would be more promising, the congressmen assured the meeting.
Would it? A survey conducted by NEDA from
October 2007 to January 2008 found out that 41 percent of the
respondents were not aware of the constitutional provision on
autonomy, 64 percent did not know about the legislative power
proposed for the CAR, and 66 percent were undecided on the issue of
autonomy.
The survey results do not look promising. The
level of consciousness for a full-throated home rule is depressingly
low. The militancy of the regional leaders and popular support do
not inspire confidence. Unless the congressional leaders, governors
and mayors—together with the private sector—unite to assert
their aspiration at the national policy-making forum and mobilize
popular vote, Cordillera may be the last region to achieve autonomy
in the community of self-governing jurisdictions.
|
