TABUK CITY, Kalinga—A veteran tribal conflict mediator was conferred the 2016 National Outstanding Volunteer Award in the individual adult category by the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency for his “inspiring commitment to volunteer service in the field of peace and development.”
Andres Ngao-i, chairman of the Cordillera Bodong Administration-Cordillera People’s Liberation Army and chairman of the Regional Council of Elders for Indigenous Peoples Education, was cited for his leadership in “advocating indigenous people’s education, preservation of indigenous practices, and nurturing a culture of restorative justice, especially for the Kalingas and for his staunch advocacy for voluntarism for peace and development.”
The 60-year-old Kalinga elder was active in conflict mediation not only among feuding tribes inside and outside the province, but also in tribal conflicts “that prevented the escalation of violence and promoted a reign of peace in Kalinga through the years.”
He is described by his colleagues as “the man” in tribal conflict resolution, as he was able to negotiate more than 100 tribal and nontribal cases involving 46 tribes of Kalinga, 10 sub-tribes of Mountain Province and six sub-tribes of Abra, of which about 90 percent were successful.
“My ultimate goal is to put an end to the tribal wars for the sake of the next generation,” Ngao-i stressed.
He is also a strong advocate of the indigenous peoples’ education and was instrumental in creating a memorandum of agreement between the Department of Education and Kalinga Province in the promotion of the Kalinga culture, tradition and practices.
Part of the affirmation of the commitment to IPEd is the inauguration of a “pakedian,” an indigenous space for coming together among the Kankaney peoples of Benguet where a ritual was conducted together with the IP community representatives from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The inauguration of the “pakedian” symbolizes the recognition of indigenous learning within the education system.
Ngao-i remains committed to the continuous reign of peace and order among all tribes and sub-tribes in the different parts of the region because he believes that peace is one of the drivers of economic growth in the remote communities not only of the province but also of the region.
He added that he will continue to engage tribal elders in various parts of the region to ensure that conflicts among the tribes will not escalate to violence because it will be the image of the Cordillerans that will be at stake once tribal wars will erupt between feuding tribes regionwide.
Ngao-i was among the CBA officials that represented the group in the historic Mount Data peace talks between the CPLA led by the late Fr. Conrado Balweg and the Philippine government under then-President Corazon C. Aquino that resulted in the signing of the peace agreement on September 13, 1986.