The of the
Philippines consists of the
Provinces of
Abra ,
Benguet ,
Ifugao ,
Kalinga ,
Mountain Province and
Apayao .
Baguio City is the regional center. The Cordillera region encompasses most of the areas within the
Cordillera Central mountain range of Luzon, the largest range in the country. This region is home to numerous
Indigenous Tribes collectively called the
Igorot .
Cordillera has abundant mineral reserves. These include metallic ores such as gold, copper, silver, zinc, and non-metallic minerals like sand, gravel and sulfur. Mineral reserves are found in all the provinces. However, mining is concentrated in Benguet.
CAR is subdivided into 6
Provinces and 1
City .
Almost the whole region is situated in the mountainous
Cordillera Central range. Located there is
Mount Pulag , the second highest mountain in the country, rising at 2,922 meters. Various rivers start here, like the
Cagayan River and the
Agno River .
Tourist attractions in the region include the world famous (the second highest mountain in the Philippines with an elevation of 2,922 meters above sea level), Mt. Data and Balbalasang-Balbalan, located in the province of Kalinga.
On
July 15 ,
1987 , Executive Order No. 220 was issued creating the Cordillera Administrative Region. It is composed of provinces which used to be part of the Old Mountain Province.
Republic Act No. 6766 was passed on
October 23 ,
1989 . It provided for an Organic Act for the Cordillera Autonomous Region. It mandates the creation of an autonomous government to be headed by a Regional Governor. It creates a Regional Assembly that will enact laws of regional application and a regional judiciary composed of a supreme court and lower courts. The act also directs the proposed autonomous government in the Cordillera to exercise governmental functions, including the raising of taxes, but excluding defense, foreign affairs and monetary functions. However, the Constitution requires that the act has to be ratified by the people in a plebiscite. It was originally scheduled on
December 27 of the same year but was reset to
January 30 the following by virtue of the Commission on Elections. During the said plebiscite, it was only Ifugao which voted favorably.
Republic Act No. 8438 dated December 22, 1997 created the Cordillera Autonomous Region. In January 1998, a group of lawyers challenged the constitutionality of the act. A plebiscite held on March 9 of the same year was held and invalidated the act. The region was created but reduced to a regular administrative region.
