RDC-RPOC seeks Sipat Anniversary as holiday

THE CORDILLERA Regional Development Council (RDC) and Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) during its 1st quarter meeting recently passed a resolution requesting the Office of the President to declare the anniversary of the September 13, 1986 Sipat peace talks as a special non-working holiday.

The resolution was proposed by RDC Private Sector Representative Engr. Andres Ngaoi in a similar meeting in November 15, 2017.

Nago-i said the September 13 Sipat anniversary is significant in Cordillera history since the event led to the provision for the establishment of an autonomous Cordillera region in the Philippine Constitution.

The 1986 which was held in Mt. Data Hotel in Bauko, Mountain Province, involved Cordillera autonomy advocates led by the late Conrado Balweg and the Philippine government after the EDSA revolution.

This led to the signing of Executive Order 220 the following year, creating the Cordillera Administrative Region to serve as a transitory structure towards the establishment of an autonomous Cordillera region.

Engr. Ngao-i’s proposal was reviewed and deliberated in a meeting of the Sectoral Committee on Development Administration chaired by DILG Reg. Dir. Marlo Iringan. Agreed, the resolution was presented and endorsed for the joint RDC-RPOC approval. NEDA Release