The Tadian Student Organization (TSO), in partnership with the Regional Development Council (RDC) CAR, conducted a conference on Local Governance and Regional Autonomy attended by Criminology, Education, HRM and Accountancy students on March 18, 2016 at Mt. Province State Polytechnic College (MPSPC) Gym, Bontoc, Mt. Province.

The youth are said to be the hope of the future generation and thus, the need to inform and educate them on critical development issues like regional autonomy.

Dr. Annie Grail Ekid, the Vice President of Research Extension and Production, commended the collaborative efforts for pushing this activity. She encouraged the participants to listen carefully for this will enlighten them on the subject matter to become possible speakers and advocates of autonomy.

The historical background of the Regional Autonomy was discussed by Mr. Gary Pekas; principles and features of HB4649 was presented by Mr. Marcelino Balaso; Comparison of Cordillera Autonomous Region and Cordillera Administrative Region was given by Angel Baybay; the political structure of autonomy was discussed by Mr. Keith Jimson Mang- usan, and the 3 core messages of autonomy was presented by Dr. Claro Esoen and Dra. Paulina Sawadan.

Questions that aroused the curiosity of the students and which were clarified by the speakers were as follows:How will the youth sector be represented in the Cordillera Autonomous Region? Would existing laws be revised or changed when we become autonomous? If HB 4649 is passed and approved by the Congress, will the Cordillera Autonomous Region become independent from the National Government?

The conference was made possible thru the initiatives of the Tadian Student Organization and Dr. Claro Esoen and was funded by the Regional Development Council (RDC) CAR thru its Social Preparation of CAR into an Autonomous Region (SPCAR) Program.

 

 

Maridel P. Langbis, SPCAR