IP group forms movement against tyranny

May 8, 2018 Community Billboard

BAGUIO CITY – An indigenous people’s group cheered at the creation of the Cordillera Day Movement Against Tyranny (CMAT), which the members consider as among the significant results of the 34th Cordillera Day celebration on April 22-24, 2018.
CMAT “aims to unite all freedom loving people in the region against tyranny and build a broad front to counter the increasing fascism, militarist rule and development aggression of the Duterte regime,” said the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) in a press statement last April 30 reporting the results and highlights of the recently concluded Cordillera Day.
CPA Chairperson Windel Bolinget said 55 individuals from various provinces and sectors comprise the CMAT Convenors. CMAT serves as the regional formation of the national alliance movement against tyranny, he said.
“Another concrete output of the 34th Cordillera Day was the Cordillera Declaration Against Tyranny, which was approved and signed by the delegates,” added CPA Secretary General Bestang Dekdeken.
“The declaration embodies the peoples’ unity and solidarity to uphold that legitimate dissent and activism is noble and is an obligation of the people under a tyrant, to mobilize (Mabtad) and defend peoples’ rights and to collectively resist and overcome tyranny and to fight for self determination,” stressed Dekdeken in the said statement.
CPA claimed that the Cordillera Day celebration “served as the organized expression of the Cordillera people’s struggle for our rights to our ancestral lands and self determination”.
The IP group thanked all the individuals and organizations who came and supported the event, and all who were unable to participate in and instead sent solidarity messages.
The 34th Cordillera Day was co-hosted by the Tongtongan ti Umili-Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA), Ibagiw alliance of Ibalois in Baguio and Benguet, and the Asin Road Barangay Council.
According to Bolinget, the celebration was participated by 1,500 participants coming from the different organizations mostly the indigenous peoples and advocates from all Cordillera provinces, Baguio City, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Region, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, National Capital Region, provinces in Visayas and Mindanao, and various countries (Japan, Australia, Belgium, USA, Canada, Timor Leste, and the Netherlands).
“So we have a total number of 1,500 na participants to the 34th Cordillera Day, syempre marami din palang galing Manila, sa iba’t ibang organization maliban doon sa binanggit ko kanina na mga partylist under the Makabayan block syempre yung national organizations and itong ibang grupo na lumalaban din sa tiraniya tulad ng Coalition for Justice,” Bolinget stressed.
“Ang ikalawang araw, April 23, yan ay na-allot sa iba’t ibang mga workshops kasi tuwing Cordillera Day isang layunin dito yung aral at pagkakaisa sa iba’t ibang usapin na kinakaharap ng mamamayan ng Cordillera. Isa dito yung TRAIN, ang Federalism, Regional Autonomy, yung iba’t ibang proyekto tulad ng mining energy,” Bolinget added.
All in all as to the previous Cordillera Day Celebration, the 34th was successful one because the Cordillera Movement Against Tyranny was already declared last April 24, 2018, he said. CHERRY MAY D. PUMIHIC, UC Intern / ABN