Cordillera marks 40 years since Mount Data Peace Accord

BAUKO, Mountain Province — Government officials, local leaders and community representatives gathered in Mountain Province on Sunday to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1986 Mount Data Peace Accord, an event remembered as a turning point in efforts to end armed hostilities and pursue peace in the Cordillera.

The anniversary, known as Sipat Day, was commemorated at Mount Data Hotel in Bauko, where participants from government, security agencies, academic institutions and civil society paid tribute to the historic peace initiative.

The event recalled the Sipat, an indigenous peace ritual and ceasefire held on Sept. 13, 1986, involving the Philippine government under then-President Corazon C. Aquino and the Cordillera Bodong Administration-Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CBA-CPLA), led by Fr. Conrado Balweg, the Police Regional Office Cordillera (PRO CAR) said.

The accord is regarded as an important milestone in the Cordillera’s peace process, helping create conditions for the cessation of armed hostilities and subsequent efforts involving dialogue, reconciliation and development.

The commemoration also highlighted the accord’s place in the region’s political history.

The PRO CAR said the 1986 agreement contributed significantly to the establishment of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) under Executive Order No. 220.

The ceremony brought together officials including Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Secretary Mel Senen S. Sarmiento, who was represented by Presidential Assistant Wilben M. Mayor; Mountain Province Gov. Bonifacio C. Lacwasan Jr.; Lone District Rep. Maximo Y. Dalog Jr.; Bauko Mayor Randolf T. Awisan; and Mountain Province Police Provincial Office director Col. Marcelo B. Polig.

Representatives of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, University of the Philippines-Diliman, Mountain Province State University and other government and community organizations also attended.

Police Regional Director Brig. Gen. Noel B. Vallo was among the officials present.

The PRO CAR said his participation reflected the regional police office’s commitment to supporting peace and order efforts and honoring the legacy of the Sipat.

But the anniversary’s broader significance lay in the historical agreement itself: four decades after the Mount Data gathering, the Sipat remains a reference point for the Cordillera’s continuing pursuit of peace through dialogue and reconciliation.

The 40th anniversary was held at the same historic site associated with the 1986 accord, underscoring the continuing importance attached to the event in the region’s peace narrative.