Aquino stand on ARMM worries execs pushing Cordillera autonomy

BAGUIO CITY—Malacañang’s impression about corruption and government failure in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has become a major concern among Cordillera officials, who have drafted a third bill creating a Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR).

Mayor Mauricio Domogan, who presented the draft measure at a May 31 forum, said advocates would need to mount a strong lobby from Cordillera residents to draw the attention of President Aquino to their cause.

The President had backed a bill seeking to postpone August elections in ARMM so the national government can introduce reforms there. But a report from the Senate committee on local government, headed by Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., refused to endorse the postponement.

In a Senate hearing on Monday, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo cited the poor public perception of ARMM due to anomalies and the region’s unabated poverty as some of the administration’s reasons for seeking to postpone elections in ARMM.

But the economy is also the reason why Cordillera is pursuing a third autonomy bid. The upland region rejected Republic Act No. 6766 in a 1990 plebiscite, and RA 8438 in the 1998 plebiscite, preventing the conversion of the Cordillera Administrative Region into CAR.

But officials decided to pursue a third organic law in 2010 to benefit from a P10-billion government subsidy that would jump start the regional economy.

Lawyer Alexander Bangsoy, head of a team commissioned by Domogan, completed the 47-page draft law on May 16. The proposed CAR law grants an autonomous Cordillera government its own governor and a legislature that will control the use of mountain resources, like gold and water, among other special powers.

In public forums last year, Cordillera officials banked on the fact that the Cordillera region was created by Mr. Aquino’s late mother, President Corazon Aquino, in 1987 after she signed a peace agreement with slain rebel priest Conrado Balweg.

Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. and Benguet Rep. Ronald Cosalan, both members of the administration Liberal Party (LP), said the support of Mr. Aquino for the renewed autonomy bid would be invaluable.

But when asked if Mr. Aquino’s position on ARMM describes his mood on autonomous regions, Domogan said: “The President has been cool [to Cordillera autonomy so far] but if there is public clamor, he will have to help us pursue it.”

“This is why being united behind an autonomy bill is crucial today. The pressure is not to get the attention of the President or Congress, the pressure is for every Cordilleran to finally get behind this [proposed law],” he said.

Domogan said the draft bill will be reviewed by all Cordillera provinces before it is transmitted to Congress in July.

“We decided early on that we want a law that asserts autonomy without over-asserting our independence from the national government. The line agencies will function under our autonomous government, and they  will play a role in our development,” Domogan said. Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon