Conrado Balweg

Conrado Balweg was a former Filipino Catholic priest and rebel who was the founder of the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army, a militant group which advocated autonomy for the Cordillera region in the Philippines. He was also known by the nom-de-guerre Ka Ambo.

Balweg, a member of the Tingguian people, was ordained a priest of the Society of the Divine Word congregation by Pope Paul IV in 1970 during the latter's pastoral visit to Manila. He joined the New People's Army in 1979 when he was inspired to fight for the Cordillera people after tribal leader Macli-ing Dulag was killed that same year. Dulag was opposed to a plan of the government to build a hydroelectric dam in the Cordilleras. In the early 1980s, the Armed Forces of the Philippines had tagged Balweg as its most-wanted man with a bounty of ₱200,000. As an NPA member, he was part of the Lumbaya Company.

Balweg formed the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) in 1986 with fellow priest, Bruno Ortega. Under his leadership, the CPLA made a "sipat" or ceasefire with the Philippine government at the Mt. Data Hotel, in Bauko, Mountain Province on September 13, 1986. The agreement between the two sides was called the 1986 Mount Data Peace Accord.