Aquino, CBA-CPLA to sign agreement

Manila, Philippines - President Aquino will sign the memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the government and the Cordillera Bodong Administration-Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CBA-CPLA) on Monday for the CPLA’s final disposition of its arms and forces, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said yesterday.

The MOA will also pave the way for the transformation of the CPLA into a potent unarmed socio-economic force, the OPAPP said.

The signing is scheduled at 10 a.m. on Monday at the Rizal Hall in Malacañang where officials of the CBA-CPLA are expected to attend.

The CBA-CPLA, a breakaway group of the New People’s Army and founded and formerly headed by the late Fr. Conrado Balweg, signed last May 2 a closure agreement with the Aquino administration.

The OPAPP said the closure order to be signed by the CBA-CPLA with the government is in line with the 1986 Mt. Data peace agreement forged during the administration of the President’s late mother, former President Corazon Aquino.

The CBA-CPLA is currently chaired by Arsenio Humiding, the recognized leader of the CPLA who obtained a resolution of support from all the zone commanders in the Cordilleras.