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Wednesday, May 14, 2003
CPLA moves to unite factions to pave way for autonomy
TOP officials of the Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA) are seriously contemplating moves to unite the two factions amid reports that the leadership struggle may jeopardize the quest for autonomy in the Cordilleras.
But one of the top officials of the CPLA under the Balweg faction, who requested for anonymity, said that it would take time for the two factions to unite, considering that the discord between the two factions is very 'deep' because of the ideological indifferences.
The CPLA official, however, claimed that the Balweg and (Mailed) Molina factions are united in line with the long-time quest for an autonomous Cordillera.
The quest for autonomy was part of the 1986 Mt. Data peace accord signed between the Aquino government and the CPLA when the government asked the former Cordillera rebels to lay down arms and become its partner in fostering peace and development in the region.
The power struggle in the CPLA leadership came in the open following the assassination of former CPLA chair Conrado 'Ka Ambo' Balweg inside his ancestral home in Malibcong, Abra, on December 31, 1999.
Balweg's close associates, led by Ernesto 'Ka Sungar' Garado, then questioned the assumption as CPLA supremo of Mayor Mailed Molina of Bucloc, Abra, saying that those who were involved in the Mt. Data peace accord do not like Molina.
Ka Sungar even urged the government to make a thorough review regarding the integration of the 264 CPLA cadres, many of them from the Molina faction, into the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
But Tuesday, the CPLA official claimed that prime movers of the two factions are seriously contemplating moves to disregard their differences and instead push for the revival of the aborted quest for autonomy.
"Those who figured out in the Mt. Data peace accord expressed apprehension that the provision in the 1987 Constitution, which provides for autonomous governments in the Cordillera and southern Mindanao might be sidelined in the wake of the proposed charter change," the official added, claiming that the said provision should be maintained if plans to change the constitution push through.
"Surely, CPLA officials would lobby for an autonomous Cordillera and we can achieve it when we are united," the CPLA official said.
Recently, top Corillera leaders, led by the chairmen of the Cordillera Regional Assembly, Cordillera Executive Board, and Cordillera Bodong Administration, in a joint declaration, appealed to President Gloria Arroyo to fully implement Executive Order 220, a special law providing the guidelines for a regional autonomy. HFP
(May 14, 2003 issue)
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