01/06/2020
Sadanga Mountain Province Mayor Gabino P. Ganggangan
sites "Clear and Present Danger" in his municipality and narrates the deceptions of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA)
Fighting for self-determination
WHO REALLY DID WHAT?
Aside from claiming to be the defender of our ancestral land, the CPA in its usual self-advertisement ventures to sell themselves abroad for their fund sourcing and solicitations keeps on claiming to have been fighting for our self-determination. Is this really true?
I noticed that after I posted my answer #5 in response to Ms. Joanna K. Carino, and also my answer #6. Mr. Bolinget, Mr. Mero and Sarah have not responded as they usually do. I just hope that after reading all my posts, they now realize that they had been victims of the twisting by their CPP friends of the true story of the peoples struggle during the Marcos time by these CPP members who suddenly came and volunteer their “professional efforts” in the guise of being the secretariat of the Mass Movement. These young and enthusiastic employees or staff of CPA and its affiliate legal organizations should now realize that they had unwittingly been used as the mouthpiece of the CPP members trying to hide in their legal organizations. I hope my answers will open their eyes to the truths and encourage them to review what was indoctrinated to them by their manipulators and eventually have an objective discernment of their own before allowing themselves to continuously be used as mouthpiece in the CPP propaganda works.
Meantime they should ask their “mentors, deceivers, manipulators, the real member of the CPP” to do the answering or responding in this public discussion.
Self-determination to us simple/common people means our ability as a people through our regional government for us to do what we think is good for us. Right now the highest form of this expression which we achieved so far is our present set up being one region (CAR).
Again let’s review some milestones of events in our recent history as to how our present Cordillera Administrative Region came to be and see who truly worked for it.
Significant events / activities involved and done:
1. February 24, 1986;
Edsa Revolution - installing a new National Government with Pres. Cory Aquino and Salvador Laurel as Vice President.
2. March 1986 – July 1986;
The Tribal leader, Bodong holders and elders through its organization, CBA, and cordilleran guerrilla red fighters led by Fr. Balweg after splitting from the NPA and formed as CPLA went around their communities/ mass bases informing and educating the people on their separation and independence from the CPP controlled CPA.
3. March 1, 1986;
Vice President Salvador Laurel writes Fr. Balweg and asked him for reconciliation and to help the new Government in its task of nation building.
4. April 20, 1986;
Fr. Balweg responds to Vice President Laurel welcoming the new government. He shares the common desire for peace but request government to first create the atmosphere of trust and confidence by withdrawing all government troops in the region.
5. July 7, 1986 ;
1st Visit of Agapito “Butz” Aquino in Bugnay, Tinglayan
- Butz Aquino sent by President Cory Aquino as her personal emissary met with some selected elders of Tinglayan, Kalinga and Sadanga Mountain Province and together with some cadres of the CPLA in a kind of caucus meeting to hear the message of Pres. Cory Aquino to the newly found group CBA-CPLA. Butz Aquino reiterated and convinced the participants on the sincerity of the new government in its call for reconciliation and peace.
- The main speaker of the group in discussion with Mr. Aquino is Fr. Balweg, Mario Yag-ao and other elders such as Mr. Tayab Aboli, Leonardo Musling among others. I had the role as interpreter for the benefit of the elders who cannot speak and understand English and Tagalog well.
- The subject of discussion revolved on the National Government’s call for ceasefire to all rebel groups and its offer for reconciliation and peaceful dialogue to resolve the issues being presented.
- Fr. Balweg summarized these peoples issues as follows:
1. Immediate cancellation of the Chico dam, Cellophil logging, mining operations in the region;
2. Recognition of prior rights of the Tribes over their ancestral lands;
3. Establishment of a Cordillera Regional Autonomous Government;
4. Withdrawal of all government troops in the region
- This served as a preliminary talks and presentation of the Cordillera issues to the government as talking points which Butz Aquino agreed to relay and discuss with the President.
- It was agreed here that the elders be allowed first to have a wider assembly for purposes of wider consultation and collective decision before responding to the government’s offer for ceasefiere.
- The next assembly was scheduled to be held in Poblacion, Sadanga, Mountain Province.
6. August 11, 1986;
Poblacion, Sadanga, Mountain Province
True enough and as usual many BH, TL, and Elders from the affected Binodngan Communities and the top cadres of the CPLA gathered in this 1 day consultation which Butz Aquino again attended and presided upon.
After the whole day discussion among the participants and with Butz Aquino answering for the president.
The one day consultation revolved on the following subjects:
i. The root causes of the insurgency war in the Cordillera was extensively presented and discussed alternately by the attending BH & TL, elders and the CPLA cadres led by Fr. Conrado Balweg.
ii. Butz Aquino announced that the government response to all the demands being presented by the elders will have be discussed in a formal peace negotiations.
iii. It was agreed that any further talks between the AFP and the CPLA has to be sanctioned by the CBA which is now the organized embodiment of the Binodngan communities opposing the Chico Dam, Cellophil and mining projects.
iv. After the days thorough exchange of opinions and discussion, the assembly finally agreed to enter into a formal dialogue being asked and offered by the Cory Aquino Government.
v. It was agreed that the negotiation or peace talks must be done in the process and rituals of our Bodong/Pechen system to make it truly binding to all parties involved.
vi. It was agreed that a “Sipat” be now scheduled and done to implement a ceasefire of hostilities and discuss and thresh out the various issues, problems and concern affecting the BIBAKA Provinces
o Butz Aquino reiterated to this bigger and wider assembly consultation his previous message in Bugnay and relayed the response message of Pres. Cory Aquino as follows:
A. The President accepts all the peoples’ grievances as discussed by Fr. Balweg in the 1st Bugnay meeting as all valid and government has to respond to it.
B. Her government is committed to listen to these grievances and to the correction or rectification to these anti people policies, laws, programs.
C. Butz Aquino also relayed the Presidents message response to allow the granting of autonomy to the Cordillera and assured its inclusion in the constitution which is now being drafted by the constitutional commission.
D. President Cory reiterated her message for the need to have a formal talks to discuss all these issues and governments response.
E. At the end of the days consultation meeting, Fr. Balweg acting as the main presenter and spokesman/speaker for the BL, TL and Elders summarized the grievances in general terms in a similar manner he did in their July 7 meeting in Bugnay as follows:
a. Immediate cancellation of the Dam, CRC, Mining, etc.
b. Formation of a Cordillera Autonomy Socialist State which is very analogous/akin to the existing inter-tribe relationship called Bodong/Pechen;
c. Recognition of our prior rights to our ancestral lands vs the regalian doctrine of land ownership;
d. Reparation works and acceleration of economic development in the affected communities to compensate for the decades of government neglect.
vii. Contrary to Butz Aquino’s insistence to invite the CBA elders and CPLA officers to meet with the President in Malancanang, the elders were adamant that the exchange of “Allasiw or the Sipat” must be done inside the territory of the BIBAKA Provinces! “It must be the aggressor who caused the war (referring to the National Government) that should bow down and come with their offer for ceasefire (not us aggrieved party, the defenders)”. The elders emphasized.
viii. Butz Aquino in behalf of the government accepted all the above conditionalities and announced that government shall start preparing for such meeting with the President in a date and place to be decided soon.
Francis Dangiwan, Baboo Mondonedo, Manuel Onalan and myself were tasked by Fr. Balweg to be the contact persons and join the Government Technical Team to coordinate and plan for the holding of the “Sipat”.
7. September 13, 1986; THE MOUNT DATA SIPAT
More than a hundred of Tribal Leaders, Bodong Holders and Elders together with the Top Cadres of the CPLA met with Pres. Cory Aquino at Mount Data Hotel, Bauko, Mountain Province. She was accompanied by some of her concerned Cabinet members like Secretary of National Deffense Juan Ponce Enrile, AFP Chief of Staff Fidel V. Ramos, and Health Secretary Bengzon among others.
As previously agreed for the Sipat Rituals to be conducted; these specific acts were performed:
a) Exchange of “allasiw” tokens: namely the Cordillera group (CBA-CPLA) gave President Aquino a Tapis, Spear, and a Shield.
b) In exchange the Government gave the Cordillera group; 1 M16 armalite riffle, a Bible and a Rosary;
c) A sip of Fvayash ( a sugarcane wine) by the main actors from a common glass after both sides dropped some coins in the glass;
d) Formal submission to the President of the written Cordillera issues and concerns entitled: “Toward the Solution of the Cordillera Problems: a statement of Position” containing the 26 points demand of the People.
After a brief oral presentation/explanation by Fr. Balweg of the substance of the 26 points demand, the parties agreed on the following:
1. Generally, President Cory Aquino accepted these grievances as valid issues that government has to respond to but will have to be addressed officially through legal government processes and procedures.
2. Pres. Cory Aquino confirmed her previous assurance as relayed by Buts Aquino for the inclusion of the provision for autonomy in the new constitution being drafted by the constitutional commission.
3. She agreed to the cancellation of the Chico dam, Cellophil, Batong Buhay Gold Mines and other pending Mining Applications in the region. She asked however to be given time to see how the documents for these shall be processed and cancelled.
4. The CPLA and the NAFP agreed to sign a MOA – ceasefire agreement as a way of documenting and implementing the just concluded Sipat between the CBA-CPLA and National Government - NAFP.
The ceasefire will now pave the way for a formal negotiations between the 2 parties to resolve the issues contained in the 26 points demand.
5. Both parties agreed to form their respective panels to proceed with the Peace Talks which expected results shall be submitted to the President for approval.
Topic for next post: The Peace Negotiation resulting to the issuance of EO 220 creating the now Cordillera Administrative Region (November 3, 1986 – July 16, 1987).
Meanwhile let me respond to some reactions raising the issue of legality and red tagging to my previous posts.
To those who are discussing my previous posts from a point of view of legalities:
You can go on with your argumentations as to what is legal and what is not, whether it be in accordance to Geneva Convention or any other international as well as “inter galaxy” agreements you wish to refer to, and you may do this till Kingdom come. This is best for you Lawyers, academicians, or doctorates of what, to spend your lifetime arguing about but your legal argumentations whatever the end result won’t stop the ongoing insurgency war which is causing the loss of many lives in our country today. So while these top notch legal minded people do their theoretical brain intramurals on legalities, I would rather ask us all especially as parents, officials and leaders to use our common sense and discernment and make a stand. There is now an ongoing shooting war among us/and or relatives, Igorots/Cordillerans. Those in the legitimate government armed services and also our kailyans or relatives in the NPA on the other side. This shooting between relatives, tribemates and fellow Cordilleran’s must not go on!!!
When our relatives like our children, brothers/sisters, cousins or uncles, etc. upon reaching the proper age decides and inform us of their wish/ambition to become, police, army, air force or any other branch of the armed services of government, we as parents become part of their decisions when we accepted and endorsed it. In fact we supported them morally, spiritually and financially while they were in school, in trainings, until they became full pledge member of the armed service.
Also, as pre-requisite to their official entry to their respective schools or trainings, these applicant soldiers seek the endorsement of us the community thru the endorsement given by our Barangay Chairman and Mayor in their capacity as the peoples/community representative. On the other hand, when one among our relatives or kailyans are recruited to the NPA, they did not even seek the advice or consent of their immediate family except that they had been enticed and recruited to become activist by their leftist organization like CPA or its other affiliated organization like PIGSA, ORNUS, INABUYOG, etc. After being exposed to so many mass actions like demonstration, rallies, marches and the likes, these students/youths will eventually develop hatred against government and the Armed services due to the continuous indoctrination given to them by CPP-NPA recruits. Finally they will be pushed to become “volunteer heroes” of the umili by joining the NPA, their so called “suldados ti umili kuno”.
In the light of such scenario where shooting/ fighting among relatives, tribemates and fellow Cordillerans now becomes inevitable and real, we have to go back to our allegiance test again.
To the CPA people and their supporters, likewise those in the other affiliated organizations supporting the CPP-NPA please ask yourself this question.
There is this ongoing war in our country for almost 4 decades now. One party is the duly constituted government established thru a constitutional process and it is being protected by the legitimate Armed Forces/service of the country. The other party is the CPP and NDF whose sole purpose and program is to topple down the constitutionally established government by any and all means which includes using violence, terrorism and armed clashes thru its armed wing, the NPA against the legitimate state forces and this includes their summary execution/s of political leaders they cannot convince and intimidate to support them. So the question is who or which of the 2 sides are you supporting?
Again, Sirs and Madams, the public wants to hear your answer.
GABINO P. GANGGANGAN
31 MAY 2020
