Baguio City — The renewed pursuit for Cordillera autonomy is still in good shape despite limited resources due to the overwhelming support of various sectors.

This was reported by Presidential Assistant for Cordillera Affairs Tom Killip, who said that the grassroots level approach being employed by the advocates is greatly helping in advancing the cause.

Killip made the assessment during the celebration of the 22nd founding anniversary of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) during simple ceremonies held in the Baguio Convention Center (BCC) here Wednesday.

The drive for the establishment of an autonomous region in the Cordillera remains to be the primary focus of the development agenda for the region pursuant to a constitutional provision mandating the creation of such region be composed of the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, and Baguio City.

Juan Ngalob, director of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) in the Cordillera, said the work force and the organizational machinery for a mass-based campaign on self-governance are now in place, and the information, education and communication needs of the sectors are now being addressed.

Under the action plan on regional autonomy and development, the information campaign must be directed at the general public, youth and academe, government instrumentalities, and various groups.

One of the programs now in place is the teaching of autonomy in the elementary, secondary, and tertiary schools.

At the same time, the Cordillera office of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is translating the module prepared by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) into the vernacular to cater the needs of students in the technical-vocational institutions in the region.

With the proposed 15-million budget for this year scrapped, Ngalob said, the advocacy on autonomy remains to be one of the primary concerns of the Regional Development Council (RDC).

He said it is still best to instill in the minds of Cordillerans the importance of self-governance or autonomy that is expected to help the upland people get out of the poverty rut.

He said that the expansion of the RDC’s network and machinery on autonomy and the intensified information campaign are two major components of a successful effort to improve the voters’ appreciation of the issue.

Furthermore, RDC’s capacity-building programs aimed at teaching local governments on how to be financially independent have encouraged the local officials to be creative in sourcing revenues for the drive without compromising public interest, Ngalob said.