BAGUIO CITY September 02 – President Rodrigo R. Duterte has high regard for indigenous peoples and lumad concerns, especially their clamor for their recognition as a people and their desire for self-determination under a federal form of government for them to be able to freely exercise their rights over their domain and resources, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Assistant Secretary Ana Marie Rafael-Banaag said here Wednesday.
Banaag, who was the former Municipal Mayor of Natonin, Mountain Province, said the President, being a lawyer, is aware of the struggle of the Cordillerans and Bangsa Moro for self-determination after both regions were neglected by the national government previously in terms of development, thus, he will make sure that both regions will be treated as separate federal states once the shift from the present presidential form to federal form of government will be achieved in the future.
Banaag accompanied Assistant Secretary Ramon Coaloping III who served as the guest of honor and speaker representing Presidential Communication Office Secretary Martin Andanar during the 107th Baguio Charter Day anniversary program held at the Baguio Convention Center.
“We support the Abueva version of dividing the country into federal states because it includes separate federal states for the Cordillera and the Bangsamoro in recognition of the struggle of indigenous peoples and lumads for self-determination after being neglected by the government over the past several decades,” Asec Banaag stressed.
The Palace official explained the Cordillera has two available options once the Duterte administration will be able to succeed in pursuing the shift in the form of government to federal system, particularly the recognition of the Cordillera as a separate federal state or it will be included in the Northern Luzon Federal State as an autonomous region.
According to her, the reason for the existence of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) is because of the struggles of those leaders to gain recognition from the national government that the region also deserves to be given equitable share in terms of development– so the inclusion of the Cordillera in the Northern Luzon Federal State as an ordinary local government will render injustice to such struggles.
She pointed out the struggles of Cordillerans for the establishment of an autonomous region will be rendered useless if the region will eventually land in the Northern Luzon Federal State without achieving the clamor for autonomy. There is nothing wrong if the region will continue to enhance its advocacy on autonomy vis-à-vis the shift to federal form of government by the Duterte administration.
Earlier, former Senate President Aquilino Nene Pimentel, Jr., who is an advocate for federalism, explained that while it is true that there are 11 federal states in their proposal, the number of federal states could be increased in recognition of the constitutional provision that recognizes the establishment of autonomous regions in the Cordillera and Muslim Mindanao. The two regions will be treated as independent federal states in recognition of the contributions of indigenous peoples and lumads to the overall development of the country.
Banaaag urged Cordillerans to continue the enhanced clamor for regional autonomy in order to gain attention from the advocates of federalism on the need to treat the region as a separate independent state.
Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan asserted there are still many issues to be tackled and addressed on the issue of federalism and the inclusion of the Cordillera to the proposed Northern Luzon Federal State will result in the inequitable sharing of the resources of the federal state because of the smaller population and land area of the region.
The local chief executive pointed out autonomy advocates in the region support the Abueva system because it recognizes the constitutional provision mandating the establishment of autonomous regions in the Cordillera and Muslim Mindanao which should be the way in order to chart the development growth of the region.
“We should not give up the renewed pursuit for regional autonomy because our inclusion in the Northern Luzon Federal State will result in the neglect of the region in terms of development except when there will be laws that will be passed to equalize the status of small and big regions in terms of their share from the available resources of the federal states,” Domogan stressed.
For his part, Rep. Mark Go claimed that during a recent meeting with the members of the Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Cordillera, he and Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat, Jr. agreed to refile the autonomy bill but other lawmakers from the region proposed the conduct of more consultations in order to get more inputs on what should be included in the autonomy bill.
He said a number of lawmakers support the proposal of former Senator Pimentel and that speakers are already being organized in order to pursue the information and education campaign on federalism in the different parts of the country prior to the passage of the law that will allow the shift of the current presidential form to the proposed federal form of government.**By Dexter A. See
