Tanudan, Kalinga - The Office of the Municipal Peace and Order Council (MPOC) of Tanudan is proposing for the approval and adoption of an ordinance institutionalizing the Bodong system in the municipality.
Bodong, which is a territorially based bilateral covenant of non-aggression between villages, is practiced by the IKalinga cultural communities until today, being their first system of government to maintain Inter-Tribal relationship and peace and order among communities.
According to Fernando Cosidon, District Congressional Office Representative, a resolution of the MPOC of Tanudan presented or suggested the enactment of ordinance institutionalizing the Bodong system in the locality.
“Nu anya pag-nunumuan, mas napigpigsa nu adda ti local law or local ordinance nga maaramid, ma-uniform amin a Pagta ket isubmitar mi kadakayo ta isu ti na-approve an ti concerns ken ug-ugali a napintas ditoy Kalinga nga isu nakabigbigan tayo dayta Bodong system locally and internationally,” he relates.
He added that at present, there seems to be a significant reduction on the awareness of the young generation on said system. This may be due to the fast development of technology and influence of other culture; that, if not given attention, may lead to the loss of said valued and cherished cultural heritage.
With the implementation of the ordinance, the Bodong system will be preserved and be transferred in practice from the present generation to generation. Hence, provision shall be included on the ordinance requiring that the system shall be taught by the Department of Education from grade six (6) or grade ten (10) up to grade twelve (12).
The ordinance shall establish, through the National Commission on Indigenous People, permanent boundaries of respective Ancestral Domain of each tribe in the municipality to pre-empt the occurrence of possible boundary dispute.
Also, it shall provide an equal application in terms of civil obligation on “multa,” creating leveled playing fields.
Moreover, the ordinance will provide a non-severance of the Bodong until a problem shall be resolved and a prohibition on the customary “eye for an eye” or a “tooth for a tooth” practice, and a sanction for a negligent Bodong holder.
Cosidon further stated that this measure shall serve as a model for the other municipalities for the reason that the same is a first of its kind, an innovative pioneering piece of legislation.
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