05/02/2020 R.A. 6766 Today is Wednesday, February 05, 2020 Custom Search Constitution Statutes Executive Issuances Judicial Issuances Other Issuances Jurisprudence International Legal Resources AUSL Exclusive Eighth Congress Republic Act No. 6766 October 23, 1989 AN ACT PROVIDING FOR AN ORGANIC ACT FOR THE CORDILLERA AUTONOMOUS REGION Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled: Preamble The God of peace, love and justice guiding them, the Filipino people of the Cordillera, faithful to the struggle of their forbears for the protection of their patrimony and the preservation of their heritage, in order to secure for themselves and their posterity a region of peace founded on truth, freedom, justice, love and human solidarity, and establish a Regional Autonomous Government within the framework of the Constitution and the national sovereignty as well as the territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines that shall ensure their human rights, their human development, and their participation in the affairs of the Filipino Nation, do proclaim this Organic Act of the Cordillera Autonomous Region, through the Congress of the Philippines. ARTICLE I The Autonomous Region Name and Area Section 1. There is hereby created an Autonomous Region in the Cordilleras to be known as the Cordillera Autonomous Region. Section 2. (A) The area of the Cordillera Autonomous Region shall consist of the city and the 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 and Kalinga-Apayao, and the chartered City of Baguio. ARTICLE II Guiding Principles and Policies 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 2. Autonomy ensures for the people of the Cordilleras 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 3. All government authority emanates from the people and shall be exercised with their democratic participation, representation and consent. Section 4. It is the primary duty of the Regional Government to ensure and protect the basic individual and collective rights of its constituents, as enshrined in the Constitution and this Organic Act. Section 5. 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 lawless violence, cruelty, vengeance and discrimination. Section 6. 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 rich and poor, rural and urban areas and among territorial subdivisions. Section 7. The people of the Cordilleras 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 8. 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 Cordilleras. 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 and sustainable economic growth and development in the region. Section 9. 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 https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1989/ra_6766_1989.html 1/14

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