During those years of development, it was the mountain province of Cordillera that was left behind and used as a resource base. The indigenous people who consider these lands as sacred ancestral domain was seldom consulted on the development projects and some felt no choice but to join the insurgency. The Cordilleran’s fights were for the protection of their land, families and way of life. It was then when the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) was created by the virtue of Executive Order No. 220 in 1987 to administer the affair of government in the region, to accelerate the economic and social growth and development of the units of the region and prepare of the Autonomous Region in the Cordillera.
Years later, the next administrations look for the fulfilment of Philippine Government commitment to fulfill the meaningful peace process for the development by causing the Congress to establish the autonomy of the Cordillera.
The realization of the journey to Cordillera Nation marks the completion In January 24, 2024. The People of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) asserted their autonomy from the Philippine federal government to establish their independent government and nation state, the Cordillera Nation, a 200,000 plus square miles ancestral domain territory north of the island of Luzon. Their desire for complete autonomy was driven by the meager PHP 1.00 ($0.018) annual budget allotted to CAR by the Philippines Government year after year. The unanimous “free and prior informed consent” of the people reflected their desire for economic independence and protection from exploitation and abuse.
GGMF provided the hope and vision that catalyzed this movement. The Cordillera Nation and the Confederation thus became the first two members of GGMF when they adopted GGMF’s Articles of Agreement and applied for membership. Capitalizing on rights granted the ICC/IPs by various laws and international conventions, including the 1986 Executive Order #220, the 1989 Republic Act 6766, the 1989 International Labor Organization’s Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, and Section 26 of the U.N’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Sections 7, 13, 16 and 17 of the Philippine Republic Act No. 8371, the CORDILLERA NATION was established to address longstanding injustices against all indigenous people, the preservation of its culture and development and chart to an economic path forward.
This initiative will ultimately allow the region in the decision making processes that affect their independent governance in the region as well as their economic and social growth.