BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera Regional Development Council held a two-day workshop from November 26 to 27 to train new speakers for the Information, Education, and Communication thrust of the Social Preparation of CAR into an Autonomous Region (SPCAR) program. The activity targeted different forms of communication to reach different sectors especially the youth.

Over 40 advocates from all over the Cordillera region participated in the two-day workshop to learn from existing IEC speakers and help further the awareness and support for Cordillera autonomy. Long-time autonomy advocates taught the participants on the basic and advance concepts of Cordillera autonomy. Topics include the basic concepts of Cordillera autonomy, the historical journey of the pursuit of Cordillera autonomy, its core messages, its salient features, the fiscal viability of an autonomous Cordillera, the key provisions of the proposed bills establishing the Autonomous Region of the Cordillera filed in the 18^th Congress, and how Cordillera autonomy affects different sectors of the region.

Long-time advocates who trained the new advocates include Gregorio Taag of Benguet, Gary Pekas of Mountain Province, Dexter See of Baguio City, Emerita Fuerte of Baguio City, Tomas Kiwang of Mountain Province, Joel Cervantes of Benguet, Delmar Cariño of Baguio City, and Vladimir Cayabas of Baguio City.

NEDA-CAR, secretariat of the RDC-CAR, as represented by OIC Assistant Regional Director Stephanie Christiansen, opened the program and thanked the participants for their willingness to help in the advocacy especially during this challenging time when the usual face-to-face grassroots IEC events are limited.