THE CORDILLERA NATION
A Self-Determining and Self-Governing Autonomous first nation within the Philippines.
During years of development, it was the mountain province of Cordillera that was neglected by the Philippine government, exploited for its resources without consultation with the indigenous people who held the lands as sacred ancestral domain. Consequently, some felt compelled to join the insurgency as their only recourse.
The Cordilleran’s struggle centred on defending their land, families and way of life. In response, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) was established through Executive Order No. 220 in 1987, aiming to govern the region, foster economic an social progress, and lay the groundwork for the Autonomous Region in the Cordillera
Years later, a subsequent administration sought to fulfil the Philippine Government’s commitment to a meaningful peace process by pursuing Cordillera’s autonomy through Congress.
On January 24, 2024, the Cordillera Administrative Region asserted its autonomy, by establishing the independent Cordillera Nation—a 200,000-plus square mile ancestral domain territory in northern Luzon. This desire for autonomy stemmed from the meager annual budget allocated to CAR by the Philippine government, merely PHP 1.00 ($0.018). The people through the principle of “Free and Prior Informed Consent” expressed their desire for economic independence and protection from exploitation and abuse.
Capitalizing on rights granted to 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 chart a new economic development path forward.
