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Thousands gather in 21st Cordillera Day

MALIBCONG, Abra (April 25) — Over 6,000 delegates gathered in mountain-cradled Buanao village here from April 23 to 24 for the 21st Cordillera Day commemoration, the gathering being one of the most well-attended since the first celebration in 1985.

Delegates, who trekked ricefields and crossed rivers, came from various parts of the country and the world. Abra delegates alone totaled some 2,000 individuals.

Under the theme “Fight Destructive Mining and Intensified Militarization”, workshop-discussions on mining, human rights, alternative energy development, agriculture and food security, the Cordillera situation, cultural heritage campaign, elders, energy and oil price hikes, forestry laws and programs were facilitated. Other workshops included on the situation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), privatization of utilities and services, and a children’s workshop.

An input on the situation of indigenous peoples nationwide including challenges therein were shared by Dennis Longid of the Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KAMP). An ecumenical mass opened the main celebration on April 24.

Buanao lies in the Bangilo District of Malibcong town and is inhabited by the Gubang tribe whose ancestors originate from Kalinga province’s Igubang warrior tribe. Buanao relies mainly on subsistence agriculture for survival.

In a statement, the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) said that Abra province was chosen for this year’s Cordillera Day to pay homage to the resistance of the Abra indigenous peoples against the logging concessionaire Cellophil Resources Corporation (CRC) during the late 70s and the Cordillera martyrs who defended the homeland, added Joan Carling, CPA chair.

“The people of Buanao would like to express our thanks to all delegates. Through our hosting of the 21st Cordillera Day, we wish to understand more of society’s issues”, said Buanao barangay captain Perfecto Matnao during the opening.

“Agyaman kami ta inan anusan yu ti umay uray narigat ti dalan ken biag ditoy” (We thank you for coming despite the bad roads and the hard life here in our town), said Malibcong Mayor Mario Baawa.

Community elders conducted a thanksgiving ritual on April 23 for the safe arrival of the delegates. Deep into the night until all 6,000 individuals parted on April 25, the sound of gongs, dancing, singing and chanting echoed through the village.

History of struggle

Cordillera Day was first commemorated as Macliing Memorial Day in honor of Kalinga pangat Macliing Dulag who was assassinated on April 24, 1981 by government troops, specifically the 44th Infantry Battalion (IB) under Lt. Leodegallo Adalem for leading opposition against the construction of the World Bank-funded Chico dams. The dams were to traverse the town of Sabangan in Mt. Province to Tomiangan in Tabuk, Kalinga.

The first Macliing Memorial was held on April 24, 1982 in Bugnay, Tinglayan in Kalinga, Macliing’s village. Here, the first Kalinga-Bontoc Peacepact Holders Association (KBPHA) was established.

Markus Bangit of the CPA Elders Commission recalls then that the government’s Presidential Assistance on National Minorities (PANAMI) doled out sardines to the Mt. Province and Kalinga tribes to pacify their growing opposition and quash their inter-tribal unity and to blanket the illegal arrests, killings and harassment.

“Idi 1982 celebration ti Macliing Memorial, immay ti dadduma a Cordillera province delegates. Naisayangkat ti panagbingay ti kapadasan, ket nakita nga agpapada ti problem to problema ti umili — daga ken pagbiagan” (Delegates from other Cordillera provinces attended the 1982 Macliing Memorial where they saw that the problems on land, life and resources prevailed throughout the region), said Bangit.

In 1985, also to pay tribute to many other Cordillera martyrs, Macliing Memorial Day was commemorated as Cordillera Day.

The province of Abra also produced many sons and daughters who fought against the Marcos dictatorship who eventually joined the New People’s Army (NPA). One Cordillera martyr, Eugenio Paganao or Ka Rayos, hails from Buanao village. His parents, Ama Francisco and Ina Norlida, are now in their 80s. They too took part in the struggle against the CRC.

Gov’t neglect

Bayan Muna Partylist Rep. Joel Virador, who delivered the keynote address, said that government’s neglect to the needs of indigenous communities is very evident in Abra.

“The road conditions alone are bad, accidents can happen anytime. This is where the government should allocate the national budget,” he said. The country’s poverty rate reached 88% in 2003.

During the rainy season, jeepneys from the provincial center, Bangued, can no longer reach the area. People have to haul their goods and walk for six hours to get home or bring their goods to nearby villages.

Virador criticized the Arroyo administration for allocating nearly 40% of the approved 2005 budget to debt servicing and cutting the budget on basic social services. He added that Bayan Muna has filed a bill which calls for the scrapping of Presidential Decree 1177 which automatically allots 40% of the national budget to debt servicing.

Government’s sellout of the country’s national patrimony and sovereignty through revitalization of the mining industry is another blow to the indigenous peoples who have long struggled against development aggression, he said.

There are 13 Exploration Permit Applications (EPA) in Abra, five Mineral Sharing Production Agreements (MPSA), and one Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA). Most of these applications are from foreign companies. For the entire Cordillera region, 128 mining applications covering 1,434,770 hectares or 70% of the region’s total land area have been applied for since January 2005.

Meanwhile, as delegates have left the Cordillera Day site, Buanao folk said that military operations may resume in the area after Cordillera Day. Earlier in March, elements of the 41st IB PA harassed, illegally arrested and fired at locals. # ATB for NORDIS

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