Autonomy and Indigenous self-government
Covers the CPLA insurgency and the 1986 Mount Data Peace Accord, the 1987 constitutional provision for Cordillera autonomy, and the two failed autonomy plebiscites of 1990 and 1998. This is a self-government/administrative-autonomy demand within the Philippines, not an independence claim, and this bundle does not narrate the CPLA insurgency's military course in detail.
Following the 1986 EDSA Revolution, President Corazon Aquino's government negotiated with the Cordillera People's Liberation Army (CPLA) and the Cordillera Bodong Administration, both led by Fr. Conrado Balweg, resulting in the 13 September 1986 Mount Data Peace Accord, a cessation of hostilities.[1] The 1987 Philippine Constitution provided for potential autonomous regions in both Muslim Mindanao and the Cordillera.[2] However, two subsequent plebiscites failed to establish Cordillera autonomy: in 1990, only Ifugao province voted in favour, and the Supreme Court ruled a single-province autonomous region impermissible;[3] in 1998, only Apayao voted in favour, again falling short of the required multi-province threshold.[4] The region has continued to be administered as the Cordillera Administrative Region rather than a fully autonomous region.
Status verified as of
The Cordillera remains administered as the Cordillera Administrative Region rather than the fully autonomous region envisaged by the 1987 Constitution, after both the 1990 and 1998 autonomy plebiscites failed to secure the required multi-province support.[4]
History
From the CPLA insurgency and 1986 peace accord to the failed 1990 and 1998 autonomy plebiscites.
57 words · 1 min read
· Agreement
The CPLA and the Philippine government agreed to a cessation of hostilities, opening the path to constitutional autonomy provisions.
Significance here: The event that ended the CPLA insurgency and opened the path to the constitutional Cordillera autonomy process.
· Referendum or popular consultation
Only one province voted for autonomy, and the Supreme Court barred a single-province autonomous region.
Significance here: The first failed attempt to establish Cordillera autonomy under the 1987 constitutional provision.
· Referendum or popular consultation
A second plebiscite again failed to meet the multi-province threshold for autonomy.
Significance here: The second and, as of the sources reviewed, most recent failed attempt to establish Cordillera autonomy.
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
Claim: Following the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, President Corazon Aquino's government initiated peace talks with the Cordillera People's Liberation Army (CPLA) and the Cordillera Bodong Administration, both led by Fr. Conrado Balweg; on 13 September 1986, the CPLA and the Philippine government signed a "sipat" (cessation of hostilities) at Mt. Data Hotel in Bauko, Mountain Province, known as the 1986 Mount Data Peace Accord.
Claim: The 1987 Philippine Constitution provided for the creation of two autonomous regions, one in Muslim Mindanao and one in the Cordillera, establishing the constitutional basis for subsequent Cordillera autonomy plebiscites.
Claim: In the 1990 Cordillera autonomy plebiscite, only Ifugao province voted in favour of autonomy among the Cordillera provinces; the Philippine Supreme Court subsequently ruled that an autonomous region could not be created from a single province, and the autonomous region was not established.
Claim: In the 7 March 1998 Cordillera autonomy plebiscite, only Apayao province voted in favour of autonomy; because this again did not satisfy the multi-province threshold established by the 1990 Supreme Court ruling, the autonomous region was again not created, and the Cordillera has continued to be administered as the Cordillera Administrative Region rather than a fully autonomous region.