11/09/2026
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ญ๐จ๐จ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ
๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ต ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ข ๐ธ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ?
Today, September 11, 2026, is declared as a special non-working holiday (Proclamation No. 1389) in the Cordillera Administrative region to commemorate the establishment of the Mount Data Peace Accord, an agreement of ceasefire between the Cordillera Bodong Administration-Cordillera Peopleโs Administration (CBA-CPLA), led by the late Fr. Conrado Balweg, and the Philippine government, led by former president Corazon Aquino, signed at the Mount Data Hotel in Bauko, Mountain Province on September 13, 1986.
The agreement arose amid decades of conflict over the use and ownership of indigenous lands, involving the displacement of indigenous people. This conflict resulted in the formation of several armed movements in the Cordillera region, including the CPLA. Among the major sources of tension was the governmentโs awarding of 197,346.25 hectares to the Cellophil Resources Corporation and Cellulose Processing Corporation, as well as the proposed construction of the Chico River Dam. These events fueled opposition from indigenous communities, contributing to the emergence of armed movements in the Cordillera and initiating their armed struggle for self-determination.
The peace talks brought the armed conflict to a close. Both parties came to terms when the CBA-CPLA agreed to end their armed resistance, and the Philippine government recognized the Cordilleran peopleโs aspirations for self governance. This agreement is remembered through the โsipatโ ritual, an indigenous preliminary rite to a peace agreement involving the exchange of peace tokens. During the ceremony, the CBA-CPLA gave a spear and a shield, while the government offered an assault rifle, a Bible, and a rosary.
Today, the Sipat Peace Talks is commemorated as a symbol of peace, unity, and understanding despite differences; as Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong described the Sipat in 2023 as proof of โthe power of dialogue and understanding in resolving conflicts.โ
๐๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐๐ง, ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ง๐ฎ ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐จ ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ฌ๐๐จ๐.
Nearly four decades after the agreement, the Cordillera still does not have the genuine autonomy that generations of Cordillerans have fought for.
In an analysis by UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies, Indigenous Peoples versus the State: FPIC and Resource Extraction in the Cordillera Region, Philippines, the implementation of the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), which aims to involve indigenous people in decisions for development projects, mining, and research in their ancestral lands, is largely state-mediated, with indigenous people positioned as beneficiaries rather than collaborators in decisions involving their ancestral land.
Of course, there is no issue with commemorating the holiday; after all, it paved the way for the establishment of the Cordillera Administrative Region, nor is there a problem with recognizing the value of peaceful dialogue to end conflict. The problem arises when the Sipat is framed as proof that dialogue alone produces meaningful resolution, all the while the political demands that gave rise to the conflict remain substantially unresolved.
๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ง, ๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐จ๐๐ง๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ ๐ ๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฃ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐๐จ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ช๐ก๐๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ฉ๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ฃ; ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐พ๐ค๐ง๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ง๐๐ฃ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐๐จ ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐จ๐๐ก๐-๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ค๐ฃ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ก ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ก๐๐ฃ๐๐จ.
May we reframe what our commemoration of the 1986 Sipat Peace Talks should actually represent: a reminder of a promise still waiting to be fulfilled.
For Cordillerans, peace cannot simply mean the absence of armed resistance. It must also mean the recognition of their right to determine the future of their communities and the protection of their ancestral lands.
Otherwise, in commemorating the Sipat Peace Talks, we risk erasing the history behind our Cordilleran ancestorsโ resistance and fight for self-determination. We risk remembering the Sipat only as a symbol of peace, unity, and the opportunity for self-determination, whilst forgetting that this self-determination promised to the Cordilleran people remains an unfinished struggle.
Caption by Cheska Feleciano
Layout by Franches Jam Camba
