Manila: President Benigno Aquino III has issued an order that is expected to formally conclude a rebellion in Northern Philippines led by a former priest-turned-rebel, the late Conrado Balweg.

Aquino has directed the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) to craft the guidelines for the implementation of the closure agreement between the government and the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) and its political wing, the Cordillera Bodong Administration.

Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr., who chairs the Security, Justice, and Peace Cabinet Cluster, said that the President signed on July 19, 2011 Executive Order No. 49 to facilitate the smooth return to the fold of the law of the CPLA and help its members start a new life.

The Cordillera

The Cordillera is a land-locked region that is home to indigenous tribes collectively referred to as the Igorots. Although generally regarded as part of northern Philippines, the region has its own distinct culture and traditions. During the mid-1980s, Balweg had led a split from the communist New People’s Army (NPA) to establish the CPLA.
Unlike the NPA which struggle is nationwide in scope, the CPLA’s advocacy is localised and recornises the peculiarities of the peoples in the region.

Balweg eventually signed a peace agreement with the government of President Corazon Aquino, the incumbent leader’s mother. The former priest was eventually assassinated in 1999 by his political opponents identified with the NPA.

Twenty-five years after Balweg and the CPLA signed a peace agreement with the government, Aquino revives the legacy left by his mother by ordering the crafting of implementing guidelines of the peace pact.

CPLA

Ochoa said the executive order mandates concerned government agencies to implement the closure pact and promote coherent and consistent policies in dealing with the CPLA.

The Department of National Defense and the armed forces were directed to devise a process that will conclude the implementation of livelihood programmes for the former rebels under AO 18 within six months.

Out of the 1,200 CPLA members covered by administrative order, 408 armed members opted not to be integrated into the armed force or government militia, and will instead be the beneficiaries of livelihood programs. Ochoa also added that the President stressed that improving the economy of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) was a necessary component of the closure pact.

“The next step after winning the peace is ensuring the prosperity of the area, and the national government will be doing its part to spur economic development in the Cordilleras to provide more opportunities in the region,” Ochoa said.