BAGUIO CITY, July 23 (PNA) — Baguio City Representative Nicasio M. Aliping Jr. has asked the help of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Manuel Roxas III to intercede for Cordillera Autonomy with President Benigno Aquino III.
Aliping said he sought the help of Roxas, one of the candidates President Aquino is considering as the Liberal Party standard bearer, so that Congress would prioritize the passage of House Bill 4649, or the Act Creating the Cordillera Autonomous Region.
“I asked Secretary Mar to talk with the President to possibly include Cordillera autonomy in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 27,” Aliping said.
He said that an endorsement from the President would go a long way in hastening the passage of the bill which was authored by all Cordillera lawmakers.
“In the same manner that the President has signified his all-out support for the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), the President can also make it easier for Cordillera autonomy to pass in Congress,” Aliping added.
Saying the majority of Cordillerans support BBL, Aliping said they were also asking for a similar support from the President in their quest for regional autonomy.
“The Cordillera Administrative Region was created in 1987 by virtue of Executive Order 220, which was credited to the President’s mother, the late former President Corazon Aquino and now President PNoy has the chance to continue a legacy of the mother and the son,” Aliping added.
“The Cordillerans will be forever grateful if we can achieve autonomous status during his term,” Aliping said.(PNA)