RDC, OPAPP lead commemoration of Mount Data Peace Accord on Sept. 13

From the Philippine Information Agency (Sep 15): RDC, OPAPP lead commemoration of Mount Data Peace Accord on Sept. 13

Cordillera elders and leaders  met with some national officials and  other autonomy advocates to commemorate the historic Mount Data Peace Accord this week at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.
 
Dubbed as “32 Years of Sipat: A Gathering of Cordillera Peace and Autonomy Advocates,” this year’s commemoration of the peace agreement was brought to the national scene with the staging of the formal program at the PICC on Thursday, September 13.
 
Thirty two years ago, on  Sept. 13, 1986, the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) led by Fr. Conrado Balweg heeded the call for peace by the then President Corazon C. Aquino through the forging of a sipat or the peace agreement at the Mount Data Hotel in Bauko, Mountain Province. A symbolic exchange of peace tokens was done between the government and the rebel force that included a rifle, a rosary, and a bible.

The historic event also paved the way for the government’s recognition of the aspirations for the establishment of an autonomous region of the Cordillera starting off with  the issuance of Executive 220  creating the Cordillera Administrative Region  as a transition towards autonomous region. Said  Cordillera regional autonomy which is  mandated under the  1987 Constitution, however, remains elusive.  

Regional Development Council (RDC) Vice Chair and NEDA-CAR Regional Director Milagros Rimando said the event intends to gather key personalities who played a crucial role in the peace process and the pursuit of regional autonomy initiatives.  It aims to update stakeholders on the state and gains of the peace process in the region as well as the Cordillera autonomy initiatives.

Rimando said the commemoration   at the PICC is part of RDC efforts to drumbeat the pursuit of Cordillera regional autonomy at the national level, raise consciousness and gather insights or collective aspirations of the stakeholders relative to regional autonomy.

Among the guests are champions of Cordillera autonomy including Senators JV Ejercito, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Juan Miguel Zubiri and Bam Aquino; members of the House of Representatives led by Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo  and the Cordillera congressmen and other Cabinet officials such as Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Sec. Jesus Dureza, Presidential Legislative and Liaison Office (PLLO) Sec. Adelino Sitoy, and Presidential Adviser for North Luzon Raul Lambino.

The activity,  which is also in line with National Peace Consciousness Month, is a collaboration of the Cordillera RDC-CAR with OPAPP, PLLO, the Presidential Communications Operations Office and Philippine Information Agency – Cordillera.

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1012551