Baguio City – April 25: According to the official statement of the Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance, there was approximately 5,000 delegates from different provinces in the Cordillera, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Region, NCR, Central Luzon and Mindanao, and indigenous peoples advocates from Taiwan, Cambodia, Thailand, Canada, France, Germany and Australia participated in the successful celebration of the 26th Cordillera Day celebration held last Sunday, April 25, at Melvin Jones, Burnham Park, Baguio City.
Cordi Day 2010
Organized by the Cordillera Peoples Alliance,the celebration carried the theme Advance the Politics of Change. It formally opened with an Ibaloi indigenous ritual and prayer led by Ibaloi elders.
The Cordillera Administration Region (CAR) is located in the Northern Luzon Mountains of the Philippines inhabited by the rich diverse cultures of the Igorots. The Cordillera Day was first celebrated as the triumphs of the Indigenous People (IP) over big corporate business such as the Chico Dam. The Day was used to commemorate the Martyrs of the IP struggles. Today, the Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance (CPA) leads the struggle for the recognition and respect of the IP in the Cordillera as well as the rest of the Philippines and IPs of the world.
“The success of the 26th Cordillera Day celebration demonstrates the Cordillera indigenous peoples’ continuing efforts to advance the politics of change through the defense of the ancestral land, resources and human rights amidst heightening state repression, development aggression and red tagging of people’s organizations and leaders especially at this time of electoral campaigns,” said CPA Secretary General Abigail Anongos.
The Inquirer newspaper criticized Satur Ocampo for donning native attire to grab votes however, CPA refuted the comments:
As guest of honor on this celebration, senatorial candidates Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza donned the Igorot G-String (wanes) and Benguet tapis (devit) as requested by the CPA and elders from the different Cordillera tribes. “We are very honored that they responded to our request. Their track record on good governance and credibility and concrete support to Cordillera communities as political activists and Bayan Muna and Gabriela Womens Party Representatives deserves such recognition,” CPA officers quoted.
The Celebration was used to “advance the politics of change”. Indigenous People in the Cordillera are sick of being considered second class citizens often harassed by corporate mining companies and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. To advance the Peoples’ agenda, each province in the Cordillera endorsed the Katribu Partylist, the Makabayan Coalition, Loren Legarda and Manny Villar along with local candidates who adhere and agree to also push for changes and not just pay lip service.
Black Prop attempts to scare and intimidate the Cordilleran People but their resistance is beyond the damages that Black Prop can achieve! Their hatred in the current status quo allows them to rise out of the current rotten system an attempt to start a bright new future
Though Black Propaganda have been used as an attempt to stifle the IP will to fight back, the CPA along with Katribu Partylists along with the Makabayan Coalition continues to lead the advancing changes in Election 2010 and beyond.
KATRIBU Partylist nominees Beverly Longid (1st nominee and a Kankanaey-Bontok), Nelson Mallari (3rd nominee and an Aeta) and Virgilio Aniceto (5th nominee and an Ibaloi) challenged the delegates to act against the heightened ‘black propaganda’ against Katribu and other progressive partylists and the threats received by candidates and community leaders.
In her keynote speech for the celebration, Longid stressed that, “Indigenous peoples should vote that which truly represents them in the upcoming elections.” Longid also stated that the party sought for the disqualification of A-IPRA Partylist First Nominee and NCIP Chairperson Atty. Eugenio Insigne because his being a government employee seeking Congressional seat is against the partylist law.
Despite heavy rains, the 5,000-strong delegation enthusiastically marched along Session, Magsaysay and Harrison in their indigenous attires and continued at Melvin Jones for the sharing of the Cordillera provinces on the people’s agenda for the upcoming elections and the Cordillera Day Declaration for Politics of Change and the May 2010 Elections Baguio City mayoralty candidate Atty. Joe Molintas and candidates for councilor Art Allad-iw, Pinky Rondez, Richard Carino and Rob Ocampo joined Makabayan Coalition and Katribu in a Meeting de Avance. Read the rest of this entry »
