Friday, September 21, 2007
Tribal leaders want separate town in N. Cotabato
KIDAPAWAN CITY -- A group of tribal leaders in North Cotabato want a separate town for them to rule and manage.
The proposal for the creation of separate town for the indigenous community in North Cotabato was submitted to the office of the province's Representative (2nd District) Bernardo Pinol Jr., by the Cotabato Tribal Consultative Council (CTCC) Thursday.
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The group wants the town named after Apo Sandawa, their supreme god who lives at the Mount Apo -- the country’s highest peak.
CTCC chair Datu Samuel Asicam Sr., in his letter to Piñol, said that the Apo Sandawa town shall be composed of 14 villages located at the Mount Apo natural park.
At least four of these villages shall be carved out from Kidapawan City and the rest from adjoining towns in North Cotabato.
The group has also proposed that Barangay Ilomavis in Kidapawan City be the seat of the Apo Sandawa town.
"This proposal, if given a chance to be brought and approved by the Congress, will address our quest to self-determination," they said.
It's only the natives who have the right to rule and manage their own people and land, they stressed.
The proposed Apo Sandawa town shall include villages of Ilomavis, Balabag, Meohao and Perez from Kidapawan City. Also, the barangays of Buhay, New Israel, Buenavida, and Batasan in Makialla and villages of Don Panaca, Bangkal, Kinarum, Manobo, and Bongolanon in Magpet.
Asicam said these villages are inhabited mostly by Manobo and Bagobo, the dominant tribes in North Cotabato. (Malu Cadelina Manar/SS-Gensan)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (September 21, 2007 issue)
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