The Asia Indigenous Peoples Network on Extractive Industries and Energy (AIPNEE) extends its warmest greetings of solidarity to the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) and the Indigenous Peoples of the Cordillera as we celebrate the 42nd Annual People’s Cordillera Day. We join in spirit in the events from April 22 to 25 marking the Day across the provinces of Benguet, Kalinga, Abra, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Apayao, and Baguio City, as well as those of the global Cordillera community in Hong Kong, Canada, and beyond.

Honoring a Legacy of Resistance 
April 24 remains an important date as we honor the martyrdom of Ama Macli-ing Dulag, whose sacrifice in the struggle against the Chico River dams sparked the birth of the Cordillera mass movement. Today, we are reminded of the resistance that forged a formidable unity and successfully stopped the project to inspire the founding of the CPA in 1984. The 42nd Cordillera Day continues this legacy, transforming a historic memorial into a powerful symbol of solidarity and self-determination.

Asserting Rights Amidst Modern Threats 
We stand firmly with the theme this year: “Assert our Right to Land, Life, and Livelihood!”. AIPNEE recognizes that the challenges facing the Cordillera today are as grave as they were during the martial law era. The region remains a target for plunder through the proliferation of large-scale mining and aggressive energy projects that threaten ancestral domains; the systematic subversion of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) to facilitate corporate entry; and, the rampant red-tagging,  tribal conflict provocations, and the impacts of rising economic costs that further marginalize Indigenous communities.

Solidarity for Self-Determination
As a network focused on the impacts of extractive and energy projects, AIPNEE sees the Cordillera struggle as our own. The “development aggression” faced in the Philippines is mirrored across Asia, where Indigenous lands are treated as mere resources for profit rather than the foundation of life and culture. 

• In India, we support the Adivasi resistance to corporate tourism backed land-grabs in Kaziranga National Park in Assam while the Indigenous Peoples in the country have recently issued the Guwahati Declaration against harmful hydropower and mining projects across Northeast India.
• In Indonesia, we are working with the Cek Bocek people in Sumbawa affected by the copper mining of the PT AMNT for advocacy for their rights with the certifier and relevant international buyers of the company. We are also preparing our assistance for geothermal exploration affected Toraya people in Sulawesi.
• In Nepal, we stand with the Yakthung nation in their fight against the World Bank supported cable car project encroaching their sacred Mukkumlung mountain and assist Majhi and other communities affected by various hydropower projects along the Koshi River also involving Asian Development Bank and other multilateral financiers.
• In Pakistan, we assist Indigenous Torwali people affected by World Bank financed Madyan Hydropower Project in their struggle for recognition and rights in the context of the cascade dams program.

AIPNEE remains deeply committed to supporting our Philippine affiliates, most notably the CPA, by providing international visibility for communities in Abra and Benguet against large-scale mining and assisting the Isnag of Apayao in their brave resistance to the Gened mega-dams. Beyond the Cordillera, we extend our active support to the Indigenous Peoples of Palawan in their critical struggle against the encroachment of nickel mining and the destruction of their ancestral forests and biodiversity. We continue to monitor the hundreds of extractive projects targeting these regions while documenting the systematic criminalization and judicial harassment of indigenous human rights defenders who stand at the frontlines of “development aggression.”

Cordillera Day is more than a gathering; it is a political statement. It is an affirmation that the struggle for social justice, genuine development, and democracy is far from over. We salute the CPA for its unwavering commitment to defending ancestral domains and pursuing the aspirations that Macli-ing Dulag and all Cordillera martyrs fought for.

Assert our Right to Land, Life, and Livelihood!!
Defend Ancestral Domain and Self-Determination!
Long live international solidarity!

Read the full statement here.