Since the Marcos dictatorship, military troops have been sent to the Cordillera for "peacekeeping and development" missions that have turned out to be nothing more than protecting big extractive industries such as dams, mines, and geothermal projects that threatened to or actually displaced thousands of Cordillerans.
Pinag-iibayo ngayon ni Aquino ang mga patakaran ng neoliberalismo, denasyunalisasyon, pribatisasyon at deregulasyon alinsunod sa programang "private-public partnership" at taliwas sa pangangailangan para sa pambansang industriyalisasyon, pag-unlad ng ekonomya at interes ng mamamayan.