OPAPP, RDC gather advocates for peace and autonomy

IN TIME for National Peace Consciousness month, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) will gather several agencies at the PICC on September 13 which coincides with the 32nd anniversary of the 1986 Mt. Data Sipat or peace pact.

OPAPP has called the Regional Development Council-Cordillera (RDC-CAR), and the National Economic and Development Authority-Cordillera (NEDA-CAR) together with Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) and Philippine Information Agency-CAR (PIA-CAR) for the one day gathering.

Cordillera officials, representatives, line agencies, and autonomy advocates will meet with cabinet members, senators, and members of the media, among others, to update them on the Cordillera autonomy advocacy as the central theme of Cordillera development and as part of the peace process.

OPAPP Secretary Jesus Dureza has repeatedly championed the move of CAR towards self-determination. “Cordillera autonomy is a victory that will be postponed no more!” With the passing of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, advocates of self-determination urge the administration to take the next step in completing the peace process in the country – the regional autonomy in the Cordillera.

The Mt. Data Sipat was a peace pact between the Philippine Government and the Cordillera Peoples’ Liberation Army (CPLA) on September 13, 1986. The agreements and discussions from that meeting led to Executive Order 220 by then-President Cory Aquino which created the Cordillera Administrative Region as a transition towards autonomous government in the region.

The pursuit for Cordillera autonomy is mandated in the 1987 constitution. The RDC adopted regional autonomy as the central theme of the regional development plan. It is seen as the best option to spur sustainable development and build just and lasting peace in the region.