A BENGUET official wants to shed light on the story of the I-Benguet, including the great Apo Anno, whose resting place is in Buguias, Benguet.
Provincial Board Member and Benguet Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR) Sario Copas said the Provincial Local Government Unit (PLGU) through the Provincial Board is set to conduct a study of the people and land of Benguet. The study is dubbed "Participatory development of archives for Benguet Cultural Heritage and History."
The IPMR said that it targeted a ritual launching of the project on April 23-24 to seek the permission of ancestors in Barangay Bacolongan Norte, Buguias, Benguet. Joining the launching are coordinators and consultants from the University of Sweden, local academe, and volunteer researchers.
Copas said the project aims to provide "nearer to the truth" and clearer story of the province, with the PLGU allocating P1 million for the study.
"It is a development. All written accounts of Benguet, Benguet people will be colated. The Provincial Government of Benguet, through Sangguaning Panlalawigan, should adopt the product that will be coined by the task group that we will now accept that will be the standard story of the province," he said.
During the regular Provincial Board meeting last April 1, lawmakers approved on first and final reading the resolution authored by Copas.
The research will focus on Apo Anno and related human remains in the municipality of Buguias, Benguet relative to the project on participatory development of archives for Benguet Cultural Heritage and History.
Mummified remains of Apo Anno lie in Sitio Nabalicong, Barangay Natubleng.
Apo Anno was a well-known hunter. His remains were stolen in 1920s but were also brought back to his original home on May 21, 1999. The remains have been secured by the village and team from the National Museum.
In October 8, 2018, a letter from Dr. Maximilian Larena of Uppsala was received by Copas. The letter stated their commitment to the investigation of genetic origins of Apo Anno and related human remains.
"This was an offshoot of a verbal request by the undersigned to Dr. Larena during a cultural orientation conducted in the province on January 2, 2018 and August 2, 2018 that touched our unique mummification process in comparison with the mummies found in other countries and other cultural concerns," Copas said.
The team of researchers seeks to enter into a formal collaboration to answer unknown information such as the actual age and cause of death of Apo Anno, he said.
He added that the results of the research will be very beneficial to the next generation in enriching their knowledge about mummification, background of ancestors, and the cause of their death.