Cordillera Administrative Region

Recent events

In September 2000, the municipal council of Itogon, Benguet, withdrew support for the San Roque Dam project. The project had met a lot of resistance, because of the reported failure of its proponents to update its Environmental Certificate of Compliance (ECC) and to submit a watershed management plan required for a project of that magnitude. The San Roque Dam was to become one of the biggest dams in the world and would threaten the living environment of the Igorot.

The Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA), an indigenous rights organization in the region, in co-operation with other organizations, had highly resisted this project and thus booked a little victory. However, in May 2001, president Arroyo declared that the San Roque Dam project would continue anyway because it had already started and therefore was difficult to stop. At the same time she promised to not sacrifice the environment, to resettle the people who will lose their houses, to compensate other people, and to initiate no other large-scale irrigation projects in the future.

In December 2000, the Supreme Court of the Philippines dismissed a petition that questioned the constitutional legality of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), and act which came into existence in 1997 giving the peoples of the Cordillera decisive influence over the establishment of foreign mining companies. In this act, ownership over the lands was regarded as communal, rather than individual and thus coincided more with the view on ownership of the Igorot. The IPRA was totally different in tone than the 1995 Mining Code.

Without consultation from the people of the Cordilleras, the Mining Code gave companies the freedom to devastate tribal lands, allowed 100% foreign ownership, and gave companies the right to displace and resettle people within their concessionary areas. Some influential people filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court against the IPRA, because it contradicted with the Mining Code and would therefore be unlawful. The petition was dismissed in a 7-7 vote by the Supreme Court.

A bill creating an autonomous Cordillera was filed in Congress in 2014, but it was not backed by strategic politicians in the region due to lack of support from the national government. However, in 2017, all provincial congressmen within the CAR jointly filed a new Bill creating an autonomous Cordillera, the first time in three decades where all provincial district representatives called in unison for autonomy. The move was made due to the election win of President Duterte, who publicly supported the creation of an autonomous Cordillera. However, questions lingered on the issue of Nueva Viscaya's exclusion from the proposed region, despite being culturally and geographically part of the Cordilleras, leaving Nueva Viscaya Igorots left out from the proposal.^[22][23]

Administrative divisions

Cordillera Administrative Region is politically subdivided into 6 provinces. It has 2 cities; the highly urbanized city of Baguio, and the component city of Tabuk. There are 1,176 barangays in the region. Geographically, the western half of Nueva Viscaya is part of the main Cordilleras, while its eastern half is part of the Caraballos, the meeting point of the Cordilleras and the Sierra Madre. There have been moves to reunify Nueva Vizcaya with the Cordilleras, however, no such legislation has yet been introduced in Congress.

Ethnic groups

A man from Tinglayan vested in traditional garb holding a handcrafted weapon first produced during the Second World War; traditional Kalinga cloth is draped over Orthodox icons in the manner of Russian nabozhnyks.

Cordillera is home to many ethnic tribes living on the Cordillera mountain range. They are commonly referred to as the Igorot.

Ethnic people of Apayao

1. Isnag tribe — also known as Isneg comprising the sub-groups known as the Ymandaya and Imallod (Isnag refers to the people, while Isneg refers to the dialect). Isnags are found not only in Apayao but also in the eastern section of Ilocos Norte and northwestern portion of Cagayan. Their places of abode in Apayao are as follows:
2. Ymandaya (Isnag) — Calanasan (Bayag)
3. Imallod (Isnag) — Kabugao, Conner, Pudtol, and some parts of Luna (Macatel)
4. Malaweg — Conner

Ethnic people of Benguet Ibaloi Kankanaey Kalanguya[30] Karao Tribe Ethnic People of Ifugao Tuwali Ayangan Kalanguya

Ethnic people of Kalinga Tubog Tribe Banao Tanudan Tongrayan Tribe Ifutfut (Fugnay, Ngifat), Also found in Lacnog, Tabuk Iterkaw ;Also Found in Nambaran, Tabuk Ifasao ; Also Found in Isla, Appas Tabuk Ichananaw ;Also Found in Lacnog, Tabuk Itongrayan (Luprupa,Ifunug,Amfato), Also Found in Damsite, Tabuk Isumacher tribe ( Sumacher, Filong, Man-ufer, Mallango, Fangad) ; Also Found in Madopdop Lacnog, Ipil, Bayabat, Tannubong, Bulo Tabuk Ethnic people of Mountain Province Bontoc — Bontoc Balangao — Natonin Baliwon — Paracelis Applai — Bauko, Besao, Sabangan and Sagada

A Bontoc woman with a snake skeleton in her hair. Skeletons serve as a charm against lightning.

Languages

The Cordillera region is the most diversified ethno-linguistic region in the Philippines with its major languages having sub-dialect variations. The topographic formation of the Cordillera mountain range, which has greatly influenced the upstream migration of peoples in the Cordillera into the hinterland, corresponds the various dialects pattern formation. The disparity in linguistic ethnicity however, did not form variation in cultural development as almost every Cordillera people shares similar cultural identity among different tribes.

Religion

Roman Catholic is the single largest denomination in this region. However unlike most other provinces and regions of the Philippines, they only form a slight majority in the region forming 60%-70% of the population while Protestants specifically Anglicans and Evangelicals have a very strong presence that forms 20%-30% of the population.^[31][32]. Other religions such as traitional Animism have a significant presence in the region and it's mainly practiced by tribal people.