CPA through the years

"Upon the ascendance in 1986 of the initially popular government of Corazon Aquino, CPA pursued its call for the creation of a Cordillera region as one geopolitical entity, in recognition to its character as the homeland of the Cordillera indigenous peoples and towards the formation of a Cordillera autonomous region.

CPA successfully lobbied for the inclusion of the Cordillera peoples’ right to regional autonomy in the Philippine Constitution of 1987. However, the Organic Act approved by the elite-dominated Congress – the enabling law that would have created the Cordillera autonomous region – did not embody the substance of self-governance and indigenous peoples’ control over their resources. Thus, CPA called for its rejection which was supported by the people during the referendum held on this law.

It became clear that the struggle for genuine regional autonomy could not be achieved, unless there is truly a democratic and sovereign national government that will recognize the collective rights of indigenous peoples for self-determination and governance."

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