TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The Kalinga provincial board is seeking the support of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for the bill to establish a Cordillera autonomous region.
Through a resolution adopted on July 2, 2024, the provincial legislative body stated that the passage of the Cordillera Autonomy Bill is vital to address the unique needs and aspirations of Cordillerans, particularly in matters of cultural preservation, natural resource management, and socio-economic development.
House Bill No. 3627, the current legislative measure that seeks to create an autonomous Cordillera, hurdled the House committees on Local Governments, and on Ways and Means, but has been pending at the Appropriations Committee.
Unless the President marks the measure as a priority, progress on the bill might be delayed anew due to time constraints with the upcoming mid-term elections season, according to Kalinga Representative Allen Jesse Mangaoang.
The official assured that he and other Cordilleran lawmakers are steadfast in lobbying for the bill, mentioning plans to talk to Pres Marcos if he graces the Cordillera Day celebration in Abra on July 15.
Mangaoang is pushing for new strategies to get the government’s attention on the autonomy movement.
One is for past and current leaders of the Cordilleras to be united and go and play the gong in Malacañang, and at the Senate so that the national government will acknowledge that we really want autonomy.
Mangaoang and other Kalinga leaders including Gov. James Edduba and the city and municipal mayors expressed solidarity with the renewed quest for Cordillera autonomy during the provincial kick-off of the month-long celebration of the region’s 37th founding anniversary at the Kalinga Sports Center on July 8.
The establishment of an autonomous region in the Cordillera is enshrined in the 1987 Constitution. The Cordillera Administrative Region was created through Executive Order No. 220 on July 15, 1987 to prepare for an autonomous Cordillera region. PIA – CAR