Mayor Ganggangan proposes “sapata” to solve Butbut-Betwagan boundary dispute

Sadanga, Mt. Province – To address the boundary dispute between Butbut tribe of Tinglayan and Betwagan tribe of Sadanga, Mayor Gabino Ganggangan during a peace consultation held Thursday, January 28, 2021 suggested the use of “sapata”, an indigenous way for Cordillerans to attest truthful testimonies.

In a report by PNP Cordillera, the mayor made a request to the National Comission on Indigenous People who were present during the meeting to ask the two tribes to undergo such practice as the two conflicting tribes still claim different versions with regards to their boundary.

Ganggangan during the meeting said that the conflicting tribes should respect history and should stick with the tribal boundary (Macli-ing boundary) agreed and provided in their pagta under Gayudan- Tangkiao Bodong as the final municipal and provincial boundary.

As for Betwagan elders, PNP Cordillera said they have identified elders/ peace pact holders from neutral tribes who could serve as resource persons who could give them unbiased accounts regarding boundaries claims of the two tribes.

PROCOR’s Chief Regional Staff PCol. Ramil Saculles in a response said there is a need for the investigative body to search for more pieces of evidence not to based on those submitted by the two warring tribes. He added that these should be presented to the Regional Law Enforcement Committee (RLECC) to be utilized as basis in establishing the boundary.

On January 27, a consultative meeting was conducted in Tinglayan Municipality wherein representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources presented testimonies of invited individuals from Barangay Basao and Barangay Saclit, but elders from Butbut refused to accept their statements regarding boundaries as their claims were not amenable to them.

Despite the decision made by Butbut elders, PNP Kalinga Provincial Director PCol. Davy Limmong in an interview said they will still try to consult other sources for them to gather balanced information to solve said dispute and will stick to the main objective which is putting up or identifying the common boundaries which is acceptable to both tribes.

The conflict between the two tribes started in 2001 and was solved through a peace pact in 2007. However, the peace pact agreement was broke in February 2020 after a shooting incident transpired.

More peace dialogues are expected to be conducted until the dispute is settled.

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