No, they are not Igorot women. They are young Muslim (Moro) professionals who belong to the 5th cohort of Congressional Internship Program for Young Muslim Leaders (CIPYML), which is a program I used to handle. One of their internship activities is to visit local government units where they can learn the interface of legislative and executive functions and how these are supposedly translate into programs and services.

In June last year, I brought them to Baguio not only for some R&R but to learn more about the culture of Igorots, and more importantly about the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

The Igorots and Moros share a yearning for self-determination. It would be recalled that the Igorots pushed for the creation of the Cordillera Autonomous Region during the Aquino Administration, but they failed to deliver the votes — thus the creation of the Cordillera Administrative Region, instead. [Read on»]