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CPA-Mt. Province concludes 8th congress

BONTOC, Mt. Province (Dec. 17)—The Cordillera Peoples Alliance-Mt. Province chapter (CPA-MP) successfully concluded its 8th provincial congress on December 11 to 12 at the Multi-Purpose Building in this town.

With the theme “Assert our rights as indigenous peoples, Pursue our struggle for self-determination,” the CPA here celebrated as it continues to seek the fulfillment of its main agenda.

The CPA, following its birth in June 1984 in this very town, renewed its commitment to advance the interests and welfare of indigenous peoples (IPs) towards the recognition of their rights over their ancestral domain.

CPA founding member Petra Macli-ing said during the opening remarks that “a lot has been achieved and a lot more needs to be done.” She advised delegates to always keep in mind the principle of serving the people and to keep as inspiration the lessons learned from the past such as the the Chico Dam and Cellophil struggles.

Guest speaker Victor Ananayo, social concerns officer of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Philippines (EDNP), shared the contribution of the church in the recognition of Cordillera IPs struggle for self-determination. He said that working with an organization like CPA is not different from or far from the teachings of Christ. “Dagitoy nga issues a bakbaklayen ti CPA ket umannatop iti mensahe ti Bibliya,” Ananayo said.

Educational discussions

CPA Secretary General Windel Bolinget said that the IPs in the Cordillera are clearly Filipinos and they face the same social problems being encountered by the rest of Filipinos nationwide; these problems are imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. Bolinget clarified that these problems led to class oppression, not oppression of the majority against the minority.

In the Philippines, the democratic sectors, including the IPs, comprise the majority.

He explained that the emergence of the so-called “national minority” is deeply rooted to the dichotomy between Christianized or Hispanized and non-Christians. This dichotomy came about during the last three centuries of Spanish colonial rule, where the Igorots were the minority uncolonized by the Spaniards.

Bolinget further said that the institutionalization of national minority is distinct from national oppression. National oppression refers to the state’s violation and non-recognition of IP’s rights over their ancestral domain and their right to self-determination.

The national minority question is basically caused by Christian chauvinism, discrimination and the Regalian Doctrine, the latter now becoming the basis of unjust laws on ancestral lands.

In the two-day congress, the program of CPA-MP for the next two years was also presented. While it will continue propagating its first and main agenda, the CPA is now more focused on its organizing and campaign against the many mini-hydro dam projects in the province, large-scale mining and tribal wars. Mt. Province is actually facing these issues that need to be addressed immediately.# Zenaida T. Kezoven for NORDIS

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