THE president who created the Cordillera region (CAR) has died, but the quest to make her legacy to create the Autonomous Region of the Cordillera, lives on.

Regional Development Council acting chair and National Economic and Development Authority (Neda)-CAR Director Juan Ngalob said the quest for an autonomous region in the Cordillera does not end with demise of former president Corazon Aquino.

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Aquino’s Constitution created the region. “We owe our region to her and we are hopeful we could achieve an autonomous status as soon as possible. The former president’s death does not put an end to the drive for autonomy,” Ngalob said.

He read the RDC’s statement of gratitude to the former President and condolences to her family in a media forum.

“While the Cordillera will continue to shape its destiny guided by the dream of a regional autonomy, it shall always be inspired by one president who lent the biggest ears to the Cordillera’s collective aspiration. We shall always remember that it was during (Aquino’s) presidency that gave national credence to the struggle of the Cordillera people for self-determination and self rule,” the RDC statement reads.

“The RDC extends its condolences to the bereaved family and continues its collective prayers for the peaceful repose of the soul of former president Corazon Aquino,” it added.

Aquino issued during her reign Executive Order (EO) 220, which created the Cordillera Administrative Region, which separated the Cordillera from Ilocos and Cagayan Valley regions.

The 1987 Constitution, which was crafted by the commission Aquino created, contains a provision for the establishment of autonomous regions in the Cordillera and in Mindanao.

Aquino’s issuance of EO 220 was an offshoot of her talks with the Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army then headed by rebel priest Conrado Balweg.

Balweg was among the icons of the struggle for the protection of the Cordillera’s ancestral domain and the region’s pursuit for self-determination.