THE CALL FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIATION
AQUINO’s CALL FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIATION. The CPLA heeded the call of then President Corazon Aquino for peace and reconciliation. The CPLA saw this as an opportunity to push for regional autonomy rooted in the primitive self-governance and the people’s indigenous laws, customs and traditions.
MOUNT DATA PEACE ACCORD. On September 13, 1986, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the CPLA with its political arm – the Cordillera Bodong Administration (CBA) signed a Peace Accord in Mount Data, Bauko, Mountain Province.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 220. The Mount Data Peace Accord paved the way for the signing of Executive Order 220 creating the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) as a distinct and unique region. The CAR gives the Cordillerans the opportunity to self-govern through the Cordillera Executive Board (CEB) – the implementing arm; the Cordillera Regional Assembly (CRA) – the policy-making; and the Cordillera Bodong Administration (CBA) – a commission under the CEB.
The CPLA considered EO220 its minimum demand for a sustained peace in the Cordillera pending the establishment of an autonomous region.
ONE-PESO BUDGET FOR CAR BODIES. After the failure of two (2) plebiscites held on January 30, 1990 and March 9, 1998, then President Joseph Estrada issued Executive Order 270 on July 20, 2000 for the winding-up of activities of the CAR and Republic Act 8760, the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2000 provided a one-peso budget for the CAR bodies. This implies a clear violation of the Mount Data Peace Agreement and insincerity of the government in bringing solutions to the historical injustices in the Cordilleras.