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LA TRINIDAD, BENGUET—For nearly four decades, the Cordillera has carried an unfinished promise written into the 1987 Constitution—the creation of an autonomous region that would allow the country’s indigenous highlands to govern themselves while preserving their culture, ancestral lands, and identity.
Yet when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivered his fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona) last Monday, many Cordillera leaders were left puzzled.
Instead of addressing the region’s long-standing campaign for autonomy, the President highlighted the government’s peace agreement with the former Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA), a chapter that many in the region consider long concluded.
“A long but worthwhile 15 years since its signing, we are now ready to formalize a historic completion of the government’s peace pact with the CBA-CPLA,” Marcos said before shifting to discuss the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
