AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE CORDILLERA AUTONOMOUS REGION

• Number: Republic Act No. 8438
• Sections: 153

Preamble

P R E A M B L E

We, the people of the Cordillera, imploring the Aid of Divine Providence exercising our fundamental and constitutional right to self-determination in faithfulness to the struggle of our forbears for the defense of our patrimony and cultural heritage, in order to secure for ourselves and our posterity a region of peace founded on truth, freedom, justice, love and human solidarity and establish a Regional Autonomous Government that shall ensure our human rights, our human development, and our participation in the affairs of the Filipino nation, do proclaim this Charter of the Cordillera Autonomous Region.

ARTICLE - ITERRITORY AND PEOPLE

Section 1

SECTION 1. There is hereby created an autonomous region in the Cordilleras to be known as the "Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR)."

Section 2

SEC. 2. (a) The area of the Cordillera Autonomous Region shall consist of the city and provinces that shall vote favorably in the plebiscite called for the ratification of this Organic Act pursuant to Section 18, Article X of the Constitution.

(b) The area of the plebiscite shall be the provinces of Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Abra, Kalinga, Apayao, and the chartered City of Baguio.

Section 3

SEC. 3. The term Cordillerans shall apply to all Filipino citizens who are domiciled within the territory of the CAR.

ARTICLE - IIDECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES

Section 4

SEC. 4. It is the primary duty of the regional government to ensure and protect the basic individual and collective rights of its constituents and general welfare of all the people as enshrined in the Constitution and this Organic Act.

Section 5

SEC. 5. The exploitation, exploration, development, enjoyment and utilization of natural resources of the region shall be consistent with the conservation and protection of ecological balance and, in any case, shall be for the benefit and advantage of the Cordillerans.

Section 6

SEC. 6. The CAR shall promote social justice by enacting and implementing measures to minimize disparities between the rich and the poor, and the rural and urban areas by providing equal or equitable access to essential services, employment and other opportunities and equitable sharing of wealth and resources.

Section 7

SEC. 7. The people of the Cordilleras aspire for peace founded on justice and reverence for human life and dignity. The promotion of peace shall include the renunciation of all forms of lawlessness, violence, cruelty, vengeance, and discrimination.

Section 8

SEC. 8. The common good requires equal access to resources, employment, and services by all ethnic, social, and economic sectors and the adoption of measures for the democratic sharing of wealth, power and opportunities without distinctions based on ethnic origin, sex, language, political conviction, economic or social status or religious belief. The regional government shall adopt policies necessary to minimize the disparities between the rich and the poor, rural and urban areas and among territorial subdivisions.

Section 9

SEC. 9. The people of the Cordillera have the right, especially through their voluntary organizations and movements, to participate and be equitably represented at appropriate levels of social, economic, and political decision-making and in the formulation and implementation of local, regional, and national priorities, plans, programs and projects, and to monitor their implementation.

Section 10

SEC. 10. The development of the region requires the creation of an environment that shall provide for the basic human needs and ensure a rising standard of living for all.

The people of the region shall have prior right to the utilization and development of the natural, material, and fiscal resources of the region. The natural, material, and fiscal resources of the region shall be put to optimum and just use primarily for the benefit of the people of the Cordillera.

The conservation and protection of the natural environment by the Cordillera Autonomous Region and its people is an essential dimension of regional development.

The regional government shall promote a balanced sustainable economic growth and development in the region.

Section 11

SEC. 11. It is the task of the Cordillera Autonomous Region to establish within the framework of the national system of education, as defined in the Constitution and national laws, an educational system, both formal and nonformal, that provides for its people an education of the best quality within its means; responds to the needs of Cordillera communities; encourages creativity and critical thinking; promotes science and appropriate technology; respects indigenous culture; inculcates respect for human rights and the dignity of work; fosters love of God and neighbor, self-reliance, nationalism, solidarity and other desirable Filipino values; and contributes to the common good.

Section 12

SEC. 12. The development of the youth is a prime duty of the Cordillera Autonomous Region. Their effective participation and representation in public affairs shall be guaranteed.

Section 13

SEC. 13. Civilian authority shall remain supreme at all times for the protection of the freedom of the people and for the promotion of their safety and welfare.

Section 14

SEC. 14. The national government shall provide financial assistance to the Cordillera Autonomous Region by appropriating such sums as may be necessary to accelerate the development of the region.

Section 15

SEC. 15. The regional government shall pursue a policy of holding consultation or public hearings on matters of local and regional priorities, plans and programs as well as transparency in the implementation of projects affecting the constituents of the local government units concerned.

Section 16

SEC. 16. The regional government shall pursue a policy of devolution of powers and functions whereby lower levels of government are entrusted with functions appropriate to them: Provided, however, that until a regional law implementing this provision is enacted, the Local Government Code shall be applicable.

The local government units shall enjoy autonomy and continue to exercise the powers granted them under the Local Government Code.

Section 17

SEC. 17. The regional government shall recognize the role of organized sectors and groups to initiate the monitoring and investigation of fund utilization, work contracts and project implementation, and the filing of charges for irregularities.

Section 18

SEC. 18. The regional government shall adopt measures to free the people from poverty, generate employment and develop a self-reliant economy effectively controlled by Filipinos.

Section 19

SEC. 19. It is the policy of the Cordillera Autonomous Region to prohibit the development, storage, use or transport of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons within the region.

Section 20

SEC. 20. The regional government shall be consistent with the Constitution and national laws, provide incentives to investors, corporation and business but shall adopt measures to prevent the exploitation of natural and human resources and to ensure that such activities contribute to the development of wealth and income among the inhabitants and local government units.

Section 21

SEC. 21. Subject to the Constitution and national laws, the regional government shall review all forms of future aid loans to local government units in order to safeguard autonomy and enhance development.

Section 22

SEC. 22. Subject to the Constitution and national laws, the regional government shall set rules and guidelines for energy production, public transportation and communication.

Section 23

SEC. 23. The regional government shall promote and harmonize the interests of both labor and capital and shall protect their respective rights.

Section 24

SEC. 24. The regional government shall ensure that women and men enjoy equality before the law and shall in particular, prevent sex discrimination in the practice of professions, in conditions of and opportunities for employment or promotion.

Section 25

SEC. 25. The regional government shall enact laws to protect children against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation particularly in employment harmful to their moral, physical, or mental health.

Section 26

SEC. 26. Except under a state of emergency, no active military personnel shall be appointed or designated to any public position which is civilian in character, including government-owned or-controlled corporations or any of their subsidiaries under the control, supervision and management of the regional government.

Section 27

SEC. 27. The regional government shall take measures to prevent torture; other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment; and illegal detention and extra-judicial executions.

Section 28

SEC. 28. Subject to the Constitution and national policies, the regional government shall pursue reconciliation efforts and promote peace and demilitarization in the region.

ARTICLE - IIITHE CORDILLERA AUTONOMOUS REGION

Section 1

SECTION 1. The Cordillera Autonomous Region is an integral and inseparable part of the territory of the Republic of the Philippines.

The people of the autonomous region shall uphold the Constitution as the fundamental law of the land and unequivocally owe allegiance and fidelity to the Republic of the Philippines.

The autonomous region shall be governed and administered in accordance with this Organic Act.

Section 1

SECTION 1. The Cordillera Autonomous Region is a territorial and political subdivision administered by the Regional Autonomous Government consisting of the regional government and local government units, under the general supervision of the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

Section 1

SECTION 1. The regional legislative power shall be vested in the Cordillera Assembly, except to the extent reserved by the Constitution and this Organic Act on initiative and referendum.

Section 1

SECTION 1. The executive power in the region shall be vested in a regional governor who shall be elected at large by direct vote of the registered voters of the CAR.

Section 1

SECTION 1. The territorial and political subdivisions of the autonomous region are the provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays where applicable.

Section 1

SECTION 1. The regional government shall initiate, stimulate, facilitate, support and catalyze development in the region.

Section 1

SECTION 1. The regional government shall have the power to create its own sources of revenues and to levy fees and charges except the power to impose taxes, subject to such guidelines and limitations as the Constitution and this Act may provide, consistent with the basic policy of local autonomy.

Section 1

SECTION 1. The regional government shall, as a basic policy, promote agriculture production for domestic or commercial needs.

Section 1

SECTION 1. The regional government shall, consistent with the Constitution and national laws, exercise legislative powers over regional educational policies and cultural matters which shall, among other things, include:

(a) The authority to establish educational institutions, colleges and universities: Provided, that regional colleges and universities created by the autonomous region shall enjoy fiscal and administrative autonomy subject to regional laws;

(b) Promulgate regional educational policies which shall, among other things, include the establishment of educational institutions, colleges and universities; development of curricula relevant to the cultural heritage and responsive to the social, economic, political, and moral needs of the people in the region.

Section 1

SECTION 1. The regional government commits itself to social justice and shall, among other things, adopt measures to:

(a) Create social and economic opportunities for the less fortunate for them to become self-reliant;

(b) Ensure equal access to opportunity for elective public service, through mechanisms that make elections inexpensive;

(c) Uplift marginalized communities; and

(d) Democratize the ownership of the means of production and the benefits of development.

Section 1

SECTION 1. (a) The Cordillera Assembly shall enact necessary measures to promote and maintain peace and order and public safety in the region.

(b) The assembly shall, subject to the provisions of the Constitution and existing laws, create a Cordillera Regional Security Force taking into consideration indigenous and nonindigenous structures.

Section 1

SECTION 1. This Organic Act shall be officially promulgated in Filipino and English and translated into the languages or dialects widely spoken in the autonomous region. In case of conflict, the English text shall prevail.

Section 1

SECTION 1. Any amendment to, or revision of, this Act may be proposed by the Congress of the Philippines, upon majority vote of all the members of the House of Representatives and of the Senate voting separately.

Section 1

SECTION 1. Unless otherwise provided by law, the date of the election of the first set of officials of the regional government shall be on the second Monday of May 1998.

Section 1

SECTION 1. This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following its complete publication in at least two (2) national newspapers and all local newspapers of general circulation in the autonomous region.

Approved, December 22, 1997.

Section 2

SEC. 2. Autonomy ensures for the people of the Cordillera the right to secure for themselves their ancestral domain, develop their economy, promote their cultural heritage, and establish a system of self-governance within the framework of the Philippine Constitution and national sovereignty, as well as the territorial integrity of the Philippines.

Section 2

SEC. 2. The regional government shall exercise powers and functions necessary for the proper governance and development of all provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays within the autonomous region consistent with the declared constitutional policy on regional and local autonomy and decentralization: Provided, That nothing in this Act shall be construed as to authorize the diminution of the powers and functions already enjoyed by local government units.

Section 2

SEC. 2. Unless all the component provinces and the City of Baguio shall have been divided into districts for the election of the members of the sangguniang panlalawigan and the sangguniang panlungsod, respectively, and for purposes of the first election of the members of the assembly, the provinces of Abra, Benguet, Ifugao and Mt. Province shall each elect two (2) members per district, and the provinces of Apayao and Kalinga and the City of Baguio shall elect four (4) members at large.

There shall be party-list representatives which shall constitute twenty per centum (20%) of the total number of representatives including those under the party-list for three (3) consecutive terms after the ratification of this Organic Act, one-half (1/2) of the seats allocated to party-list representatives shall be filled, as provided by law, by selection or election from such other sectors as may be provided by the Regional Assembly, except the religious sector.

Section 2

SEC. 2. (a) No person shall be elected regional governor unless he is a natural born citizen of the Philippines, and on the day of election is at least thirty-five (35) years of age, able to read and write, a registered voter in the region and an actual resident thereof for a period of not less than five (5) years immediately preceding the day of election.

(b) The regional governor shall be assisted by a Cabinet: Provided, That the members shall as far as practicable come from various provinces and city or cities within the CAR.

Section 2

SEC. 2. The local government units shall enjoy autonomy and continue to exercise the powers granted them under the Local Government Code.

Nothing herein provided shall be construed in any manner as to diminish the powers and functions already enjoyed by the local government units.

Section 2

SEC. 2. The regional development plan shall incorporate the priority projects identified in the integrated local development plans and shall take into account the peculiarities of the different environments within the region.