Kalinga was later organized as one of the sub-provinces of Mountain Province, created by Act No. 1876.[8]
In the early years, the subprovince underwent series of territorial changes. Part of Kalinga was transferred to another sub-province Bontoc through Executive Order No. 53 in 1914. In the municipal district of Pinukpuk, barrios were moved to Balbalan in 1926; as well as parts of it to Conner in Apayao in 1927.[9]
The beginning months of the 1970s marked a period of turmoil and change in the Philippines, as well as in Kalinga-Apayao.[12] During his bid to be the first Philippine president to be re-elected for a second term, Ferdinand Marcos launched an unprecedented number of public works projects. This caused[13][14] the Philippine economy took a sudden downwards turn known as the 1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis, which in turn led to a period of economic difficulty and social unrest.[15][16]: "43" [17][18]
With only a year left in his last constitutionally allowed term as president Ferdinand Marcos placed the Philippines under Martial Law in September 1972 and thus retained the position for fourteen more years.[19] This period in Philippine history is remembered for the Marcos administration's record of human rights abuses,[20][21] particularly targeting political opponents, student activists, journalists, religious workers, farmers, and others who fought against the Marcos dictatorship.[22] The Kalinga-Apayao became known as a flashpoint of conflict between the Marcos dictatorship and the various indigenous peoples who lived in the area, because of the Chico River Dam Project,[23][24] which, even if only the most essential part of it were built, would have encompassed the municipalities of Tinglayan, Lubuagan, Pasil, and parts of Tabuk in Kalinga, as well as numerous municipalities in Mountain Province; and would have displaced about 100,000 indigenous people.[25] Because the great value placed on deceased ancestors who were buried within these communities, the issue was not just one of livelihood, but also one of sacred grounds.[24] Marcos sent three armed brigades[24] to quell down the protests, resulting in heightened tensions in the area. In 1977 alone, numerous Kalinga dam protesters — including tribal leaders Lumbaya Aliga Gayudan and Macli-ing Dulag,[23] and even a 12-year-old child[24] — were rounded up by these forces and incarcerated for up to two months.[23][24]
The 24 April 1980 murder of Macli-ing Dulag became a turning point when coverage of the murder led to public outrage. It was the first time since the 1972 declaration of Martial Law where the mainstream Philippine press managed to report on the arrests of civilians under Martial Law,[26] and the turn of public opinion against both the Chico River Dam and Martial law, coupled with the united anger of the various peoples of the Cordillera Mountains led the Ferdinand Marcos administration to give up on the dam project.[27] As a result, the Chico River Dam Project is now considered a landmark case study concerning ancestral domain issues in the Philippines.[28][29]
After the People Power Revolution
After Marcos' 21 years in power were finally ended by the civilian-led People Power Revolution in 1986, many of the activists who had joined the underground movement decided to "surface," as the new administration of Corazon Aquino released political prisoners and initiated peace talks.[30] However, anti-left sentiment in Aquino's new cabinet, which included figures who were aligned with the Reform the Armed Forces Movement, made the peace process difficult, and negotiations eventually collapsed, and the insurgency in Kalinga-Apayao persisted.[31][32]
Another event in 1986 marked the beginning of political change in the region, however - the splitting of the Cordillera People's Liberation Army from the New People's Army. Former Catholic priest Conrado Balweg, who had left his calling and joined the NPA in 1979, had been having disagreements with the NPA leadership over tactics and objectives in the Cordillera for four years when he finally decided to split from the NPA in early April 1986,[33][citation needed] believing that Igorot interests were better served through regional struggles for liberation, rather than the national-scale conflict pursued by the NPA.[34]
Peace accord and creation of the Cordillera Autonomous Region
In September 1986, the CPLA signed the Mount Data Peace Accord with the government, which led to the creation of what became called the Cordillera Autonomous Region, although attempts to ratify actual autonomy in the region have failed due to non-ratification during plebiscites.[35][36]
Along with Abra, Kalinga-Apayao became part of the territories in the Cordillera Administrative Region which was created through Executive Order No. 220 in 1987.[37]
Creation as a province
Kalinga was converted into a province on May 8, 1995 by virtue of RA No. 7878 when a majority of the voters in Kalinga-Apayao approved in a plebiscite the division of the province into two.[8][38]
Contemporary
The capital town Tabuk became a component city by virtue of Republic Act No. 9404 which sought to convert the town into a city. The law was ratified on June 23, 2007. However, the cityhood status was lost twice in the years 2008 and 2010 after the League of Cities of the Philippines questioned the validity of the cityhood law. The cityhood status was reaffirmed after the Supreme Court of the Philippines finalized its ruling on February 15, 2011 which declared the cityhood law constitutional.
Large swaths of the province's lowlands are open grassland suitable for pasture, while the highlands have extensive areas of tropical rainforest. In higher elevations to the west, particularly in the mountains of Balbalan, lie some of the most intact pine forests of Luzon island. Rizal and Tabuk with their flatlands are the biggest rice producers. Next in rice production are the mountainous area, and of note are the riceterraces of Balbalan, Lubuagan, Pasil, Pinukpuk, Tinglayan, and Tanudan.
Tabuk was proclaimed a component city in 2007, but in November 2008 the Supreme Court of the Philippines ruled that its cityhood was unconstitutional. However, Tabuk had its city status reinstated by the Supreme Court on December 22, 2009.[40]
The seven municipalities and one component city of the province comprise 153 barangays, with Bulanao in Tabuk as the most populous in 2010, and Anggacan Sur in Tanudan as the least. If the City of Tabuk is excluded, Pinukpuk Junction in Pinukpuk municipality has the highest population.[39]
The population of Kalinga in the 2020 census was 229,570 people,[3] with a density of 71 inhabitants per square kilometre or 180 inhabitants per square mile.
On the 2000 census survey, Kalinga people comprised 64.37% (111,774) of the total provincial population of 173,638. Ilocanos came in second at 23.98% (41,633), while other ethnic groups in the province were the Kankanaey at 2.55% (4,421), Bontoc at 1.61% (2,804), Tagalog at 1.28% (2,227) and Applai at 1% (1,730).[44]
106-year old Apo Whang Od, the embodiment of Kalinga tattoo artistry.A student from Tinglayan, vested in traditional garb and holding a handcrafted weapon.
There are many sub-tribes in the province. The strong sense of tribal membership and filial loyalty results in frequent tribal unrest and occasional outright war. Due to the mountainous terrain and warrior-culture of the people, the Kalinga were able to preserve their culture despite centuries of occupation in the lowlands by the Spaniards, Americans, and the Japanese.
^"List of Provinces". PSGC Interactive. Makati, Philippines: National Statistical Coordination Board. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
^"History". Municipality of Lubuagan. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
^"Municipality of Lubuagan". Department of Interior and Local Government-Cordillera Administrative Region. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
^"Archived copy"(PDF). nlpdl.nlp.gov.ph:81. Archived from the original(PDF) on May 16, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^Magno, Alexander R., ed. (1998). "Democracy at the Crossroads". Kasaysayan, The Story of the Filipino People Volume 9:A Nation Reborn. Hong Kong: Asia Publishing Company Limited.
^Abinales, P.N.; Amoroso, Donna J. (2005). State and society in the Philippines. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN978-0742510234. OCLC57452454.
^ abcDoyo, Ma. Ceres P. (2015). Macli-ing Dulag: Kalinga Chief, Defender of the Cordillera. Diliman, Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press. ISBN978971542772-2.
