Officials from government and local government units,
tribal elders, civil society organizations and
representatives from the various sectors gathered
at the 5th Infantry Division headquarters here on November 9
to witness the signing of the joint declaration of the successful completion of
the Army integration component of Cordillera peace process
as provided by Executive Order no. 49 (EO 49) issued by President
Benigno Aquino III in 2011.
Signing in behalf of the Cordillera People’s Liberation
Army-Cordillera Bodong Administration (CPLA-CBA) was CBA Chairperson Ms.
Marcelina G. Bahatan and 5ID Commander MGen Lysander A. Suerte for the
Armed Forces of the Philippines(AFP).
A total of 168 CPLA members have been integrated
into the AFP as part of the 2011 Memorandum of Agreement signed between the
Government of the Philippines and the CPLA-CBA towards the CPLA’s
final disposition of arms and forces and its transformation into a potent
socio-economic unarmed force known as the Cordillera Forum for
Peace and Development, Inc.
EO 49 which was subsequently issued by Aquino mandated
the cooperation of all concerned government agencies in the implementation of
the 2011 MOA or the Closure Agreement to the Mt. Data Peace Accord or
Sipat. The Department of National Defense and the AFP were tasked
to wind down programs under Administrative Order no. 18 series of 2001,
including the Army integration and livelihood programs for the former
Cordillera rebel group.
It could be recalled CPLA commander, the late
Fr. Conrado Balweg signed a ceasefire agreement with the late former President
Corazon C. Aquino in September 1986 in what is known as the Mt. Data
Peace Accord or Sipat.
According to Suerte, the 168 CPLA members who are
integrated into the regular force are composed of 120
members provided under EO 49 while 48 are
substitutes to the closure of CPLA livelihood program, in accordance with
Administrative Order 18 as amended by the Longayban Agreement.
Most of the integrated members are now assigned
in the different areas of responsibility of the 5 ID which include
the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela in Region 2, the Cordillera provinces and
the some provinces in Mindanao .
On Monday, at least 54 sons and daughters of former
CPLA rebels or their next of kin paraded the grounds of the 5th ID, Bahatan
said.
Philippine Army Chief LTGen. Eduardo Ano, represented by
BGen. Raul Farnacio, welcomed the sons and daughters of the CPLA who have
successfully completed the military training to the Philippine Army and to the
AFP.
He said that after so much hard work and reorientation
towards the new way of life of the CPLA members, they are now becoming
true Philippine military professionals in service to the country
and the Filipino people.
In her keynote message, Office of the Presidential Adviser
on the Peace Process Secretary Teresita Deles stressed that the closure
agreement of the CBA-CPLA is not putting a closure to the 1986 Sipat nor is
putting a closure to the pursuit of regional autonomy in the Cordillera region.
“We would like to clarify that the closure agreement does
not put an end to ‘sipat’ and it does not put an end to the dream of autonomy;
on the contrary it seeks to fulfill sipat,”said Deles.
“What it puts an end to is the existence of the CPLA as an
armed group,” she stressed.
She added that with the closure, the CPLA is no longer an
armed group with a command structure that has commanders as leaders and
combatants as members but as a potent socio-economic unarmed force that can
directly improve the lives of their communities and their families and
influence the pace and direction of the development as well as the state of
democratic governance in the Cordillera.
Regional Peace and Order Council chairman IIfugao Governor
Denis Habawel also stressed that there is a need to put a closure to the CPLA
so that the region can move on to the pursuit of regional autonomy.
Habawel said that with the fulfillment of peace in the
region, the aspirations of regional autonomy will be the next step and will be
Reasier with the help of all the Cordillerans.
http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/41447341673/cpla-military-integration-of-cordillera-peace-process-now-completed
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