The Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) Kalinga Chapter pushed through with the 41st Peoples’ Cordillera Day celebration in Tabuk City, Kalinga, despite red-tagging efforts by unidentified individuals claiming to represent the “Kalinga Returnees Association.”
Flyers distributed by group called “Kalinga Returnees Association/Former NPA Rebels” in Tabuk, Kalinga. Photo from Rogyn Beyao.
The group, who claims to be composed of former NPA rebels, distributed posters branding the event as “deceptive” and accusing CPA and Makabayan party-lists as fronts for the CPP-NPA-NDF. They criticized the celebration for challenging the bogus July 15 recognition of the Cordillera as an administrative region.
The Kalinga celebration also highlighted resistance to the Makilala Mining Company, Inc. (MMCI), which recently secured over ₱4 billion in funding and loans through the Maharlika Investment Corporation. MMCI’s operations in Pasil and Tinglayan threaten major river systems servicing Indigenous farmers and communities.
April 12, 2025| Signing of a Unity Declaration against Makilala Mining project. Photo from Sumkad ti Umili para iti Matagoan, Karbengan, Aglawlaw Daga ken Dayaw (SUMKADD-Kalinga).
On April 12, over 100 residents from Tabuk and Pasil signed a unity statement opposing MMCI. Tomorrow, April 24, hundreds of yKalingas are set to march in Baguio to file a formal petition and hold a protest at the regional offices of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, 10 am in the morning.
The mobilization is part of this year’s centralized Cordillera Day commemoration
