Celebrating the Cordillera in Sagada

by ISA LORENZO

Visitors to the village of Ankileng, Mountain Province immediately hear the sound of gongs. It is a sound that will be heard constantly for the next two days, as the province celebrates the 25^th Cordillera day.

Cordillera day started as a commemoration of the death of Butbut pangat (tribal chief) Macliing Dulag, who was killed in 1980 by the military for opposing the construction of the Chico River Basin Hydroelectric Dam. The four mega-dams would have submerged hectares of rice fields and numerous villages. Dulag led the opposition, who also included women who bared their bodies in protest.

The annual celebration soon came to symbolize the solidarity of the different indigenous peoples of the Cordillera in promoting their rights to life and to ancestral land, and their unity with regional, national and international advocate and support groups.

The first celebration of Cordillera Day was held in Sadanga, Mountain Province. Now, 1000 people have come to Ankileng for this year's event. It is the first time that Cordillera day has been decentralized since 1993. There will be simultaneous celebrations in Benguet, Tabuk, Ifugao, Sallapadan and Sagada.

Igorot lands continue to be threatened by large mining companies and militarization. Mining giants such as Lepanto Mining and transnational companies like Anglo American continue to plunder the Cordillera provinces. They have violated the indigenous peoples' right to ancestral lands and their right to life, according to the Cordillera People's Alliance (CPA).

The military remains heavily deployed in mining areas. ThePhilippine Army's 50^th Infantry Battalion has moved to Bulalacao, Mankayan Benguet from Pananuman, Tubo, Abra. The first case of enforced disappearance in the Cordillera happened last September, with the abduction of CPA founding member and Odupan Clan Association President James Moy Balao. He remains missing.

As in many other places in the country, the people of Mountain Province do not have enough to eat. The price of vegetables grown in the province such as cabbages and potatoes continues to fall, even as the cost of farm inputs is rising, says Arthur Malecden, CPA-Mountain Province chairperson.

He adds that Cordillera farmers would be able to produce enough for their families if it weren't for pests like snakes and eels that destroy the crop. Natural fertilizer and pesticides have also been replaced by expensive artificial ones.

The CPA however is reintroducing natural fertilizer to the Cordillera together with its network organizations.

One of its organizations, Montanosa Research and Development Center (MRDC), produces bio fertilizer from plant material and chicken dung. The fertilizer costs only P300 per sack, unlike conventional fertilizer, which costs P1,700 per sack. MRDC is also a member of the Philippine Network of Food Security Programmes.

MRDC is only one of the many organization participating in this year's Cordillera day. Among the participants are a group of teachers from Quezon City, students from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, and international delegates from Canada, Spain, Belgium, Malaysia and Bangladesh.

During the two-day celebration, there are numerous cultural presentations. The MAITUD (elder) assembly is held on the first day, along with workshops on topics such as educational tourist attractions, indigenous cultures, and appropriate technologies.

On the second day, there was a commemoration of martyrs and a solidarity night consisting of more cultural presentations and solidarity messages from allied organizations.

MRDC's success in producing natural fertilizer is an essential component of the sustainable agriculture practiced by member organizations of the Philippine Network of Food Security Programmes.

The solidarity shown in Sagada by people's organizations and by local and international delegates is heartening. While many problems remain in the Cordillera, the people stand firm and continue with their campaigns.

In the words of Macliing Dulag, “Land is life.” Land is at the center of the struggle of the Cordillera people for ancestral domain and self determination. The annual Cordillera day is both a celebration of the Cordillera people's continuing efforts, and a symbol of solidarity for their struggles. So long as the Cordillera people’s rights to their land are denied, they will continue to celebrate and struggle.