The majority of Cordillera voters did not want it to be an autonomous region because of the effect on their families and the possibility of terrorism; none of the provinces voted for autonomy.
Several attempts at legalizing autonomy in the Cordillera region have failed in two separate . The first law Republic Act No. 6766, took effect on October 23, 1989 but failed to muster a majority vote in the plebiscite on January 30, 1990. The second law, Republic Act No. 8438 passed by Congress of the Philippines on December 22, 1997, also failed to pass the approval of the Cordillera peoples in a region-wide referendum on March 7, 1998. In 2018, referendum and political analysts have stated that "people's lack of understanding of the autonomy issue, compounded by misinformation drives by some sectors", was the primary factor against Cordillera autonomy. 
