Cordillera activist Beverly Longid elected first Igorot chair of Asian IP alliance

Beverly Longid’s election in the AIPP is especially meaningful to her given the harassment and red-tagging she has endured

BAGUIO, Philippines – Cordillera Indigenous Peoples rights defender Beverly Longid has been elected chairperson of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), becoming the first Igorot to hold the position since the regional alliance was founded more than 30 years ago.

Her election took place during AIPP’s 9th General Assembly, held from June 3 to 5 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, with representatives from 14 Asian countries in attendance. Longid was chosen by consensus, a show of the confidence indigenous peoples across the region have placed in her leadership.

She attributed her election to the international recognition of the commitment and capacity of Filipino activists. No one contested her nomination, unlike others.

From Sagada to Chiang Mai

Longid hails from the Bontok-Kankanaey indigenous communities of Sagada and Alab, Mountain Province. She is a founding member of the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA), a former chair of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA), and the global coordinator of the International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL).

She is the first Igorot to chair AIPP, although there was another Filipino – Pablo Santos, an Aita – before her.

Longid has proposed holding the 2028 AIPP General Assembly in the Philippines “to bring it home to where the first resolution to build AIPP was made.”

Red-tagged but not silenced

Longid’s election is especially meaningful to her given the harassment and red-tagging she has endured. She and other leaders of the CPA have been repeatedly and publicly accused of being communist rebels, often through military-sponsored radio programs, social media campaigns, and intelligence briefings without clear basis.

As a long-standing advocate of human rights, Longid has been vocal against extrajudicial killings and state-sanctioned violence, including the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs, which saw thousands killed on mere suspicion of involvement in the illegal drug trade.

Longid was also among the Cordillera activists who opposed the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, warning that it would further endanger indigenous leaders, environmental defenders, and critics of the government.

During their campaign against it, Longid said she saw it not as counter-terrorism, but a counter-democracy measure.

Longid and an executive council composed of regional, youth, and sectoral representatives will guide the alliance’s strategic vision and direction.

The alliance’s 2025–2028 strategic plan focuses on revitalizing Indigenous cultures and values, strengthening self-governance, and defending land and territorial rights – alongside intersectional work on gender, youth, and disability inclusion.

“The future of our movements will not be built only in boardrooms or Zoom meetings,” Longid told delegates. “It will be built in the villages, in the territories, in the frontline struggles. That’s where real power resides…. We don’t just want seats at the table – we want to rebuild the table.”

During the general assembly, Gam A. Shimray, outgoing AIPP secretary general, emphasized that the next four years must not be business as usual, stressing that they “are not only resisting authoritarianism [but] are offering new pathways toward democratic transformation, based on moral consensus, political responsibility, and sustainable living.”

Shimray noted the increasing risks faced by Indigenous Peoples across Asia – from militarization in Myanmar and the Philippines to the denial of cultural and political space in Laos and Vietnam. – Rappler.com

Mia Magdalena Fokno is a Kankanaey Indigenous journalist based in Baguio City, dedicated to telling stories that honor the culture, strength, and lived experiences of the Cordillera region. She attended the 9th General Assembly of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) as an observer for the Indigenous Voice in Asia Network (IVAN), a platform that amplifies Indigenous journalism across Asia.