BONTOC, Mountain Province — Around 200 tribal elders, peace advocates, government representatives and community leaders from Mountain Province and Kalinga have gathered in a major effort to stop recurring inter-tribal conflicts that have cost lives, disrupted livelihoods and left communities living under the threat of retaliation.
The two-day gathering held in Bontoc on August 20 and 21 brought together delegates from municipalities across Mountain Province and Kalinga, including Tabuk City, under the theme “Address the root causes of tribal war. Build inter-tribal unity and peace.”
At the heart of the discussions was an institution that has governed relations between Cordillera communities for generations: the bodong, or traditional peace-pact system.
Elders Confront a Cycle That Can Last for Years
Inter-tribal conflict in parts of the Cordillera can stretch far beyond a single violent incident.
According to accounts presented during the gathering, disputes can develop into prolonged cycles of retaliation, particularly when killings or serious injuries remain unresolved under customary mechanisms.
Some feuds can continue for five to ten years or even longer, while the availability of modern firearms has increased the danger compared with conflicts fought generations ago.
The consequences reach well beyond those directly involved.
Students belonging to opposing communities may become afraid to attend the same schools, forcing some families to transfer their children or interrupt their education. Farmers may also avoid fields located near disputed areas because of security fears, affecting both income and agricultural production.
Young people can grow up surrounded by tension and the expectation that violence could erupt again.
That is one reason elders are pushing for intervention before another confrontation triggers a fresh chain of retaliation.
Why the ‘Bodong’ Matters
The bodong is one of the Cordillera’s best-known indigenous peace mechanisms, particularly among Kalinga communities.
Rather than functioning as a simple ceasefire, a bodong traditionally establishes obligations between communities, laying out how disputes, crimes, compensation, territorial concerns and relations between the parties are handled.
These agreements are governed by customary rules commonly associated with the pagta.
Kalinga has taken significant steps in recent years to strengthen this system.
In February 2026, the provincial government formally launched a 137-page codified Kalinga Pagta, transforming generations of customary rules into a written reference developed through consultations involving tribal elders, local officials, legal experts, indigenous institutions and government agencies.
The initiative was designed to preserve traditional conflict-resolution practices while making the rules clearer for younger generations and contemporary institutions.
Peace Negotiations Are Already Being Tested Elsewhere
The push in Bontoc is not happening in isolation.
Earlier this year, the Matagoan Bodong Consultative Council helped facilitate a sipat, or preliminary peace negotiation, between the Guinaang and Balatoc tribes of Pasil, Kalinga over a long-running boundary dispute.
A sipat traditionally opens the door to formal peace talks and can eventually lead to a full bodong agreement.
In that dispute, peace holders and community representatives sought to restore historically recognized territorial boundaries and eventually formalize them through local legislation.
The approach illustrates how customary law and modern government institutions are increasingly being used together rather than treated as competing systems.
Recent Violence Has Added Urgency
Calls for peace have become increasingly urgent amid recent tension involving communities in Mountain Province and Kalinga.
Earlier in August, indigenous women’s group Innabuyog-Gabriela appealed for an end to conflict involving the Betwagan community of Sadanga, Mountain Province, and the Butbut community of Tinglayan, Kalinga, following a reported shooting incident that seriously injured a woman.
The organization called on both sides to initiate traditional peace procedures, including warang or sipat, instead of allowing retaliation to deepen the conflict.
Traditional practice allows one community seeking peace to send an object such as a spear, bolo or axe through designated mediators as a symbolic declaration that it wants hostilities suspended while negotiations begin.
Peace advocates have repeatedly warned that civilians—including women, children and elderly residents—often bear the consequences when conflicts escalate.
Ancient Tradition Meets Modern Peacebuilding
The Bontoc gathering opened with a traditional pitik ritual led by elder and peace-pact holder Lakay Banag Sinumlag of the Butbut tribe, who offered prayers for unity and a successful dialogue.
Representatives from local governments, churches, indigenous organizations, schools and civil society joined the discussions.
Mountain Province officials emphasized rebuilding trust between communities rather than allowing grievances to be passed from one generation to another.
Organizations including the Movement for Inter-Tribal Unity and Development and the Binodngan Peoples Organization have also pushed for intervention before disputes escalate into prolonged violence.
Their message is increasingly clear: peace cannot depend only on police intervention after violence begins.
It also requires elders, families and communities to stop retaliation before another death produces another demand for revenge.
The Bigger Challenge
The Cordillera’s peace-pact system has survived generations because it places enormous responsibility on elders and community leaders.
But today’s conflicts are unfolding in a different environment.
Modern weapons make encounters deadlier. Young people move between communities for school and work. Government laws operate alongside customary rules. Social media can spread allegations or anger almost instantly.
That makes the current effort more than an attempt to revive an old tradition.
It is a test of whether one of the Philippines’ oldest indigenous systems of diplomacy can evolve fast enough to confront modern forms of violence.
For the roughly 200 elders and advocates who gathered in Bontoc, the objective is not simply another agreement signed after another conflict.
It is to prevent the next conflict from starting at all.
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