AFTER verified reports citing the continuous presence of the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) in Benguet, members of the Benguet Provincial Board is asking the national government of the current status and existence of the CPLA in the whole region.
Despite the closure agreement of CPLA with the national government, Benguet officials claim there are still recruitment being undertaken by the para-military group seeking to strengthen their force and widen operations in the region.
A closure agreement was entered between the government of the Philippines through the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) in 2011 and self-professed chairman Arsenio Humiding and Marcelina Bahatan representing the Cordillera Bodong Administration- CPLA towards the final disposition of arms and forces and its transformation into a socio-economic unarmed force.
This has prompted Benguet legislators to inquire from OPAPP on the status of the CPLA not only in the province but in the whole Cordillera.
“Such information from the National Government through the OPAPP of government policies on the status or existence of the CPLA not only in Benguet but the entire CAR, will ultimately aid the local governments in charting their programs and legislative policies that will promote the best interest and welfare of the people,” said a recent resolution by the board.
Due to the closure agreement, the resolution states there is no legal basis for the CPLA’s continued existence and presence in the province.
The Benguet Board also reiterated the resolutions by the Regional Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee (RLECC) and the Provincial Peace and Order Council declaring CPLA as nuisance and not welcome in the province.
RLECC in 2015 have also passed a resolution urging the local government units, local chief executives and other government agency to denounce CPLA.
During the board meeting on Monday in Buguias, Board Member Florencio Bentrez said the disbanded para-military group activities and recruitment persist to affect the peace and order in the province.
Bentrez manifested the province do not need any army aside from the recognized Armed Forces of the Philippines.
CPLA is a militant organization based in the region that was founded by Conrado Balweg in 1898 which has been long disbanded and its members have supposedly been integrated into the military.