Only 40% support regional autonomy

IN A survey conducted by the National Statistical Coordination Board, only 40 percent of Cordillerans feel the need for an autonomous government while 24.2 percent don’t see the need.

“Is there a need for the Cordillera to become autonomous and do you support it?” was the crucial question in the survey.

Among the provinces, Apayao registered the highest number of positive responses with 58.5 percent. The bulk of the “undecided” and those who said “I don’t know” comprise 35 percent.

The other provinces said “Yes” (40.89) while almost a quarter (24.4) said “No”. Eighteen percent were undecided and 16.1 percent said “They don’t know.”
The survey showed 53.1 percent are unaware of the renewed move for the Cordillera to become an autonomous region, while 46.9 percent are aware. Abra was noted with the highest level of unawareness followed by Ifugao (60 percent) and Mt. Province (57 percent).

Most of the respondents who claimed they are aware of the renewed move for autonomy said they heard it from local radio stations. The survey showed 76.8 percent of respondents heard about the House Bill 5595 while 23 percent said they are unaware.

Among the respondents who heard about the bill, only 42.9 percent are aware of its content while 57.1 percent are not.

Of the survey respondents, 20 percent answered that the region is not yet ready to become autonomous. Only Mt. Province gave the negative response to the question. The province’s respondents said “the advantage and the disadvantages of being autonomous are not clearly explained by the proponents; and Cordillera is not yet economically and politically ready.”

Some 27.3 percent answered the region is ready while 44.2 percent answered “It depends” and “I don’t know”.

The respondents who said the region is ready said “it is good for progress of the region; it is better if we govern our own province; and it will make Cordillera manage its own resources.”

Apayao, Kalinga and Baguio City perceived the region as ready to become autonomous while Abra, Benguet, Ifugao and Mt. Province claimed the region is not yet ready.

Most of the respondents who said the region is not yet ready explained “Cordillera is economically and politically not ready for autonomy.”

The survey was conducted from July to September in the different provinces and cities to determine the current level of awareness and degree of support of the general public on the House Bill 5595 creating an autonomous region in the Cordillera.

A total of 5,558 respondents participated in the survey.

Benguet had the highest number of respondents with 23 percent, followed by Baguio City (18 percent), Abra (17 percent), and Mt. Province, Kalinga and Ifugao with 12 percent each. Apayao had the least respondents with six percent.

Most of the respondents were female because more women were available during the weekends when the survey was conducted. Ninety eight percent of the respondents were literate, only two percent have not gone to school.