Monday, September 06, 2004
Tabuk bodong council eyes removal of ‘gopas’ from peace pacts
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TABUK, Kalinga – The Municipal Bodong Council (MBC), which is composed of the eight original tribes inhabiting this town, may have found the solution to the problem of tribal wars in this province with its rejection of the "gopas" provision in the "bodong" or peace pact.
The provision, which is found in almost all the "bodongs" in the province and in neighboring Mt. Province, states that when a grave offense is committed and efforts to settle it amicably fails, the aggrieved tribe can sever the bodong.
The severance of the bodong is a declaration of war because it suspends the effects of the pact and gives the aggrieved tribe the freedom to redress its grievance through vengeance which would then set off a cycle of vendetta killings.
Tabuk Community Affairs Officer Alexander Gunaban said that the MBC has adopted a standard "pagta" without the "gopas" provision but only three bodong pairings in the MBC have so far incorporated it into their "pagtas" with the rest expected to follow suit shortly.
"Under Section 1 Article 6 of the MBC pagta, in the event that a peaceful settlement of an offense cannot be reached, the two tribes will help the victim find justice in the regular court by volunteering to stand witness against the culprit. Section 2 of the same article penalizes bodong-holders (enforcers) who allow their bodongs to be cut with a fine of two carabaos worth P10,000 each," Gunaban said.
Gunaban said that the eight tribes deemed it better for tribes to cooperate in bringing the matter to court rather than lose innocent lives in tribal wars.
"The bodong is supposed to mean peace, so what’s the sense if you break it when you are supposed to make it work to solve all problems between the tribes no matter how grave?" Gunaban asked.
The MBC standard "pagta" contradicts the standard "pagta" passed by the province-wide Kalinga Bodong Congress (KBC) in 1998 and amended in 2002.
Under Section 5 of Article 6 of the KBC pagta, in cases where amicable settlement is not possible, the bodong could be broken provided that the prescribed steps are followed.
The idea of removing the "gopas" came from immigrants who, during an information drive for the bodong conducted by the Kalinga Bodong Council and the Tabuk LGU in 2002 among immigrant residents of Tabuk, had expressed their puzzlement as to why bodong-practitioners cut their bodongs instead of using them to settle their differences.
Estanislao Albano Jr., September 04, 2004, Manila Bulletin
The provision, which is found in almost all the "bodongs" in the province and in neighboring Mt. Province, states that when a grave offense is committed and efforts to settle it amicably fails, the aggrieved tribe can sever the bodong.
The severance of the bodong is a declaration of war because it suspends the effects of the pact and gives the aggrieved tribe the freedom to redress its grievance through vengeance which would then set off a cycle of vendetta killings.
Tabuk Community Affairs Officer Alexander Gunaban said that the MBC has adopted a standard "pagta" without the "gopas" provision but only three bodong pairings in the MBC have so far incorporated it into their "pagtas" with the rest expected to follow suit shortly.
"Under Section 1 Article 6 of the MBC pagta, in the event that a peaceful settlement of an offense cannot be reached, the two tribes will help the victim find justice in the regular court by volunteering to stand witness against the culprit. Section 2 of the same article penalizes bodong-holders (enforcers) who allow their bodongs to be cut with a fine of two carabaos worth P10,000 each," Gunaban said.
Gunaban said that the eight tribes deemed it better for tribes to cooperate in bringing the matter to court rather than lose innocent lives in tribal wars.
"The bodong is supposed to mean peace, so what’s the sense if you break it when you are supposed to make it work to solve all problems between the tribes no matter how grave?" Gunaban asked.
The MBC standard "pagta" contradicts the standard "pagta" passed by the province-wide Kalinga Bodong Congress (KBC) in 1998 and amended in 2002.
Under Section 5 of Article 6 of the KBC pagta, in cases where amicable settlement is not possible, the bodong could be broken provided that the prescribed steps are followed.
The idea of removing the "gopas" came from immigrants who, during an information drive for the bodong conducted by the Kalinga Bodong Council and the Tabuk LGU in 2002 among immigrant residents of Tabuk, had expressed their puzzlement as to why bodong-practitioners cut their bodongs instead of using them to settle their differences.
Estanislao Albano Jr., September 04, 2004, Manila Bulletin
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