(BEFORE PROCEEDING, SOME announcements, comments, and newsbits, here-and-there.

THE BAJES-DABOHJA-ANGSHAS Clan has finally set its Reunion date on April 21, 2012; “the venue still to be finalized in a meeting of its Committees to be held at Baguio City, middle of next month. Three venues are suggested: Menac, Ambuklao; Sombrero (also Ambuklao); and Binga”, says Overall Coordinator Molderick W. Bias. For details, kindly text CP#s: 09073191072, 09086005054, and 09186832034.

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SPEAKING OF REUNIONS, two “clans” recently voiced out their ‘embarrassing’ experiences with some very-high officials selected to be Guest Speakers.

THE ANONANG-MAGONA SIB members claim that high-official’ no. something was “duly informed, and personally asked.. even during the day itself – Dec. 25, 2012 – clan officers were texting/asking him if he would come.. no reply, no text back, no official very-high came”.

THE AGSAWAL III SIB too had their 4th Reunion at Virac, Itogon, Benguet on Dec. 28, 2011, but high-official’ no. something (another one) did not come. Says one of the Clan officers: “during our 2nd and 3rd Reunions, he sent his Assistant and he came, respectively. This time – our 4th – he was the unanimous choice, but he didn’t come; we just wonder po?”

ALLA KAYO SIRS, bossings: what happened? Anyway, play it cool and sincerely say: “next time na lang, ha”. Don’t be as offended; that should be unnecessary.

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NEXT NEWSBIT: THE ‘Sign’ at MCDO, JOLLIBEE, and the like which reads: Priority Lane for Senior Citizens or the Disabled.

IF YOU OBSERVE: such ‘signs’ are now on-the-sides! The next question therefore is: what’s it really now with the Priority Lanes?). Now, to our topic main which is the Autonomy issue.

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IT HAS BEEN quite some time, colleagues and thereabouts have asked me – at times enticed me – to comment ‘more’ on the question, status, acceptability, etc., of Cordi Autonomy, and I have mostly endeavoured to maintain plaintive answers, in Sum of which is: “I wrote about it, three times before; let those suffice as my modest contributions”.

BUT EARLY THIS week, two Central Cordis I’ve known to be ‘serious’ about the Autonomy issue, came all the way from their comfortable domiciles to tell me: “can’t you spare a word, or two, please? the issue is at-hand [emphasis mine], now!”

[FOR A MINUTE, I was stunned, or likes of – because of ‘things that played’ in my mind, viz “at hand – they mean: again? but why ask me?” and so on.

[BUT AFTER that minute, I decided to discuss with them my down-to-Earth observations about the present Quest (or Unquest) for Cordi Autonomy; the Excerts or Hightlights I now share to you].

“WHY DON’T WE move instead for a Recognition of the territory recognized officially by the Spaniards in their maps as: el pais de los igorrotes?

“WAS NOT THAT the same copy of the map which the Spaniards ‘endorsed’ to the Americans in the December 10, 1898 Treaty of Paris?

“THE BOUNDARIES AS well as the tribes – known then [and now?] as tribus independientes are very clearly defined in that map, in that Treaty.

“WHY, EVEN DEAN Worchester himself recognized the ‘independence’ – tribal, cultural, ethnic, whatever – that he didn’t think twice, he recommended the creation of the Bureau of Ethnic Tribes, as a special Bureau to take care of those tribes he knew, had met, or had mingled with.

“CAN’T WE NOT see that as his deed of Recognition – latent or per se? And much after he left the Philippines, he ‘worked’ (sort of) for the ‘creation’ – nay, ‘recognition’ of the Kalingas and their appertaining territories, and subsequent inclusion of same in the (Province of) old Mountain Province!”

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I SAID A lot more, and they said some too. We agreed on certain points; we didn’t in some others. When we were about to break up the discussion, I revealed my latest observations – mostly why I am now more for the ‘revival’ of our historical claim for ‘tribal recognition’; rather than this ‘new’, ‘newly-crafted’ Process of plebiscite Autonomy, to wit:

AUTONOMY TO MANY Cordis is an issue foremost that comes, then ‘fades’; second, what is seen is the unending resurgence and/or emergence of factionalism, change of ‘loyalties’, realignment of followings; third, our political higher-ups – local and national – are rather ‘amused’ at the ways by which the movements for Autonomy are handled; it appeas we are heading for a third plebiscite – yes, that is given – but how many of us can look squarely at himself by the mirror and say: ‘where am I leading my people, my co-Cordis?’