By Joel B. Belinan
This is a continuation of sort of my column last week particularly our chance to visit Mr. Dexter Garado (AKA Ka Sungar), one of the very few remaining living elders of the Cordillera struggle for Autonomy which is now more than three decades. My wife and I were pushed by Kath Leen, our instant tour guide and driver in Bontoc, which turned out to be timely as we came to learn that Ka Sungar just suffered a mild stroke last April. This reminds me that in the recent few years, many people advocating for Cordillera Autonomy have gone to the afterlife.
In 2019, Ka Sungar gave me a manuscript he wrote recalling his role in the coining of the term Cordillerans as a generic term to call people in the Cordillera. That was of course during the time when he along with prominent names were still active in the communist insurgency. “You can use this in whatever you think is fit,” he said to me before as he handed the few pages of typewritten document. Of course, he considers me as a friend having been one of the media people who had been writing about the drive for Autonomy. I planned to use the manuscript to write a short history of the Autonomy drive from the 1970s to the year 2001. Unfortunately, the pandemic turned the World upside down in 2020 and my prospective businessman sponsor backed out due to the financial impact on his business. Thus, my plan for book writing was shelved for the time being.
However, with the visit and the mild stroke that Ka Sungar suffered, I feel now the pressure that something should be regarding the manuscript. I tried to assure him, “You can overcome your health problem Ka Sungar, a change of lifestyle should be a good start.” He seriously responded, “Yes my friend, I still have things to do and am also hoping that I would be able to see the establishment of Cordillera Autonomy that many of my brothers and sisters have perished for.” Of course, he is already 76 years old, more than a Filipino’s life expectancy of 68 years. It is interesting to note that another elder of the Autonomy movement, Dir. Fernando Bahatan Jr., passed away a couple of months ago.
Earlier, before the election last year, Engr. Gabino Ganggangan who was then the incumbent mayor of Sadanga, Mtn. Province died of a heart attack. He was the long-time Secretary General of the Cordillera Bodong Administration (CBAd). In 2021, Edwin Muyao, or Ka Eloy to the Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA), also left this world due to a heart attack. He was also a long-time political officer of the group.
During that short conversation, I mentioned that the famous Kalinga peace advocate Pastor Luis Ao-as, and former Kalinga Governor Macario Duguiang, also passed away one after the other. It seemed that this piece of information was news to him as he was very surprised, especially about Duguiang. I just surmised that it was because the former governor was one of the political figures in the region who was always supportive of the drive for autonomy. Of course, since the mid-80s, a long line of names of CBA-CPLA officers had already gone to the afterlife with Fr. Balweg leaving this world just before the turn of the century on Dec. 31, 1999.
I told him that with Manang Angie (his wife) there taking care of him, he will surely live long. “I am just hoping that before returning my life to Apo Kabunian, I would be able to see the Cordillera become an Autonomous Region,” Ka Sungar said with his eyes looking at the nearby mountain and the Chico River that passes through the front of his abode in Samoki, Bontoc, Mountain Province.
Maybe the title of this piece is odd to many. My point though is that time is really of the essence. No one could stop the passage of time. As to what is in the manuscript, I am hoping that with the renewed drive that I got on this visit, that piece of recollection might become a real book as I planned before.
It should be noted that Ka Sungar was from Samar and has become an Igorot Cordilleran by choice. He came to this region in 1975 and leaving this region never crossed his mind as he completely immersed himself with the people in this place that he came to love more than the place where he was born..**
Note: I have not heard of any development on the proposed Bill to establish the Cordillera Autonomy that is still pending in the House of Representatives since November last year. **
