Land is Life

Land is Life An Advocacy Paper on the Land Claim and IKSP of the Aetas of Botolan, Zambales

by the: Project Development Institute

Edited by Aurea G. Miclat- Teves

ABSTRACT The Aetas’ concern to reclaim the Mount Pinatubo emerged out of an ordinary community organizing works. The Aetas of Botolan approached PDI to assist them on this issue. First PDI created a consultation session with the Aetas themselves to validate their concern, and then later on, with concerned government agencies at the provincial and national levels to put forward the Aetas’ demand. One important aspect of the Aetas’ claim in their ancestral land is their ethnicity and the land’s ancestral value, which is evidenced in the Aetas’ narration of their ancestors’ historical presence in the land. The Aetas are using the IPRA law to reclaim the land. These are the ancestral domain provision in the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA). As of now, advocacy is centered in the land’s ancestral integrity. It is, however, being stressed that the Aetas’ cause transcends the land issue. Ultimately, it is the Aetas’ food security and welfare, in the forms of economic and socio-political education and empowerment as shown in their existing IKSP pertaining to their food system, and the Implementation of government policies with regard to IKSP and food security, that serve as the main objectives of this Aeta Advocacy paper. Provision of assessment and recommendation follows.

Acknowledgment: In behalf of the Project Development Institute, I would like to thank Kathleen Ocampo and Ruel Punongbayan who helped in the research work, to Analyn Osias for the technical support and Ramon Ayco for the photo documentation . I would also like to thank the Area Management Team of Zambales headed by Al Carillo and the Aeta LAKAS community in their full participation and commitment to share their lifelong experiences.

The Aetas’ Land and Life, p. 2

INTRODUCTION A. Context

The province of Zambales is home to one of the major ethnic groups in the Philippines, the Aetas, small, dark skinned, nomadic people. Mostly forest foragers and hunters, the Aetas were a highly mobile people who followed wild game, and gathered root crops and fruits from the dense forested highlands of Zambales. The demands of the hunting-gathering culture of the aetas discouraged permanent settlement, and at the same time the accumulation of material goods. While going about with their daily lives, the only materials the aetas bring with them are bows and arrows. They have also developed a popular wind instrument called bansik, a four-holed flute fashioned from mountain cane.

The ethnicity of the Pinatubo Aetas is the most significant aspect of their claim to their land and life. Like any other indigenous groups, their life has an important, and almost cosmic, link to their land. It is almost cosmic in the sense that their world consciousness and the continuity of their way of life are rooted in the land where they were born and have defined their humanity. Their land of origin in the mountains and forests of Mount Pinatubo is not only the source of their sustenance, it is also home to their identity and culture.

The Pinatubo Aetas’ situation, however, need not be confined to this perspective. The Aetas’ well-being may likewise be addressed from the perspectives of their economic capability and their assimilation to the political diversity of the bigger Filipino society. The human development of the Aetas, or for that matter, of any ethnic minority group, must consist of the


freedom to assert cultural identity and the opportunity to pursue economic and political empowerment. B. Framework:

Using the Participatory Action Research, the main subject of this paper is to document the claim of the Botolan Aetas in their ancestral domain and the process of securing their Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) and its important implications on their welfare and development. The effort to cover and document the existing Indigenous Knowledge System

A meeting to trace the boundary of Aeta villages covered with lahar as prerequisite for the granting of Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT).

(IKSP) pertaining to their food system will be done , including the assessment of the government’s implementation with regard to policies on IKSP and food security. With this humble contribution, this paper intends to advance the Aetas’ demand for their CADT. At this point, the primacy of this clamor is to gain actual title to strengthen their ownership of their ancestral land and advance their food security.

The paper is outlined as follows. The Aetas’ socio-cultural profile and their experience during the Mount Pinatubo

eruption serve as a preliminary part. It contextualizes the discussion within the Aetas’ indigenous world—their environment, culture, society, religion, etc.—and their traumatic experience during the Mount Pinatubo eruption. From here, the emergent need and condition of the Aetas were presented. Part Three particularly deals with their ancestral claim and the available methods of action the Aetas can take to assert their right over it. Part Four then tackles the welfare concern of the Aetas.

C. Methodology The IKSP's of the Aetas have already treaded quite a long history. There are many but only a few have been recorded. However, the people keep a huge stock of information, knowledge and stories handed down through generations through oral traditional and continuing practices. The methods used for this study entailed discussions with the individuals familiar with their indigenous practices.

1. Key Informant Interviews – several individuals from concerned agencies and organizations were interviewed for this case study: (1) Mayor Roger Yap – Municipal Mayor of Botolan, Zambales, (2) PENRO Cesar Estrada – Head of the Provincial Environment and Resource Office in Zambales, (3) Ms. Myrna Encinares – Officer-in-Charge of the National Commission for Indigenous People in Zambales, (4) Mr. Alcade Fallurin – Coordinator in a mining company in Zambales, (5) Mr. Carlito Dumulot – Tribal Chieftain at LAKAS Community in Bihawo, Villar, Botolan, Zambales, (6) Al Carillo – Area Coordinator of the Project Development Institute at Zambales


2. Group Interview with the Key Leaders of the LAKAS Community

3. Focus Group Discussion with key leaders of LAKAS-Kabataan

4. Interview with Yalong Cosme, the Treasurer of the LAKAS Community

5. Interview with Helen Abarra, former staff of Franciscan Missionary of Mary who is also a current resident of the LAKAS Community and coordinator for the PDI’s Aetas' Alternative Learning System

6. Informal Participation in the conversations of the people in LAKAS

Integration with the community paved way for direct observation and participation in the practice of existing IKSP related to the food security of the Aetas. Related literature especially those in relation to the socio-economic profile and other ethnographic data used in the processing of CADT security of the Aetas in Botolan were also reviewed. The study complied with the standard rule on free and prior informed consent and process required by the community. In this regard, a letter seeking permission was addressed to the tribal chieftain, Carlito Dumulot, was first forwarded to the community before proceeding with the data gathering. Data gathering commenced only after the leaders of the community had granted permission.

The brief ethnographic profile and other pertinent information about the Pinatubo Aetas1 and their way of life provided here are based mainly on studies and researches about the Aetas of Pinatubo. These written documents include The Pinatubo Negritos: their useful plants and material culture by Robert Fox (1952); Pinatubo Negritos: revisited by Calixto Barrato Jr. and Marvyn Benaning (1978); Pinatubo Aytas: Continuity and Change by Hiromu Shimizu; and After Duwagan: Deforestation, Succession, and Adaptation in Upland Luzon, Philippines by J. Peter Brosius (1990).

On their experiences during the Mount Pinatubo eruption, the following materials have been used: Disaster-response: lessons from Mount Pinatubo by Eufracio Abaya, et al (1993); In the Shadow of the Lingering Mount Pinatubo Disaster edited by Cynthia Bautista (1993); Eruption and Exodus by LAKAS (1991); and Fire and Mud: Eruptions and Lahars of Mount Pinatubo, Philippines edited by Christopher Newhall and Raymundo Punongbayan (1996).

1 The name “Aeta” is also spelled “Ayta” in this paper. These different spellings are due to the lowlanders’ different adaptations in the English alphabet.


Mount Pinatubo II. THE PINATUBO AETAS AND THEIR INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM AND PRACTICES: A BRIEF SOCIO-CULTURAL & HISTORICAL PROFILE

A. Aeta Profile

Location. The Aetas of Zambales are

known for being the indigenous inhabitants of the Mt Pinatubo, which is located along the boundaries of Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales and is part of the Cabusilan Mountains in the southern part of Zambales. Its reported elevation in the pre-eruption period was 1,745 m or 5,730 ft. J. Peter Brosius (1990:37), in his research study done in this area before the eruption, said that the Mount Pinatubo “in profile is clearly an extinct volcano”.

Prior to the 1991 eruption, the Aetas

inhabit peacefully the mountains and forests of Mount Pinatubo. There were 25 established Aeta villages in Mount Pinatubo

Aeta families who evacuated due to volcanic eruption in 1991 are now going back to their original villages near Mount Pinatubo. Photo shows an Aeta old man leads in tracing the boundary of their village, Villar.

(LAKAS, Exodus and Eruption: 1991). These were Tarao/Makinang, Manggel, Kalawangan, Lukban, Belbel, Balinkiang, Yamot, Dangla, Kasoy, Moraza, Villar, Patal Anawo, Tipli, Ogik, Burgos, Quitomboc, Tuko, Poonbato, Maguisguis, Kayanga, Mayasan, Nacolcol, Palis, and Dolawan.



The Aetas have long considered the surroundings of the volcano as their natural dwelling-place. Their oral tradition contains tales and stories about their ancestors inhabiting this land long before the Spanish period. Back then, the reach of their vision is the limit of their movement and activity.

Robert Fox’s account (1952:250) explains that, based on the type of plants they used, the Aetas of Pinatubo may have lived originally in the lowland. It was only in the latter period that they were forced to transfer to the upper regions. He reported:

I strongly suspect that lowland and coastal regions were commonly within the movements of the Zambales Negritos during early prehistoric times, for much of this area was previously uninhabited. When other expanding people, such as the Sambal, began to move into the coastal and lowland regions, the pygmies were forced into the mountains… [They] have been forced into the upland regions through population pressure.

Aeta leader Carling Domulot

Aeta generation: from grandmother to mother and child

Aeta children help fetch drinking water.

Population. The Aetas belong to the Negrito group, which is one of the six major ethnographic groupings in the Philippines2. As of 1997, there are 56,265 Aetas in the Zambales Province based on the statistics of the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP). This is 43.4% of the total population (129,516) of Aeta/Agta/Aeta-Abiyan/Aeta-Remontado group around the archipelago. The total Aeta population has increased more than six times while the Aetas of Zambales grew by more or less five times since the 1975 Census. The entire Aeta group comprises one per cent of the 11,778,190 indigenous people in the country.

The Aeta/Agta/Aeta-Abiyan/ Aeta-Remontado group is scattered in six regions and 16 provinces in the country. Note that while most of them are original settlers in their areas, such as the Aetas of Zambales, there are some who are recent migrants to other provinces. Among the provinces with recent migrant Aetas include Benguet, Kalinga Apayao, Mount Province and Pangasinan. To digress a little: in looking into the welfare of indigenous people, it may be worth investigating the phenomenon of migration among the indigenous people and the cause of or reason for their migration.

2 The six major ethnographic groupings are the Igorot Tribes, Caraballo/Cagayan Valley group, Negrito, Mindanao Lumad, Muslim Groups, Palawan group, and the Mangyan Tribes. Cited from TABAK, Tribal Filipinos and Ancestral Domain: Struggle Against Development Aggression (1989).


B. The Aetas Indigenous Knowledge System and Practices: Relation of Aetas to Their Environment.

Anthropologists familiar with the Aetas of Pinatubo attribute them with keen and sophisticated knowledge of their environment. Regarding this matter, Robert Fox (ibid.:187-188) is worth quoting at length:

[One] characteristic of Negrito life, a characteristic which strikingly demarcates them from the surrounding Christian lowlanders, is their inexhaustible knowledge of the plant and animal kingdoms. This lore includes not only a specific recognition of a phenomenal number of plants, birds and animals, and insects, but also includes a knowledge of the habits and behavior of each. This inclusive knowledge of nature is, of course, a product of their way of life; continual hunting, mobility, dependency upon vegetation, as well as a survival of their historical association. The Negrito is an intrinsic part of his surroundings, and what is still more important, continually studies his surroundings .... Most Negrito men can with ease enumerate the specific

POPULATION OF AETA/AGTA/AETA-ABIYAN/AETA-REMONTADO GROUPSn1 n2

By Region and Province National Commission on Indigenous People

Region/Province Population CAR Abra 122 Benguetm 27 Kalinga Apayaom 639 Mount Provincem 6 Region 1 Pangasinanm 170 Region 2 Cagayan 1,791 Quirino 38 Region 3 Bataan 11,963 Tarlac 9,638 Pampanga 9,791 Zambales 56,265 Region 4 Aurora 562 Rizal 4,945 Quezon 5,732 Region 5 Camarines Sur 22,372 Camarines Norte 5,455 TOTAL 129,516 mRecent IP Migrants to the Province n1NCIP borrowed data for Regions 4-13 from the Ibon Facts and Figures, updated in 1997. The data for the remaining regions were based on the Listing Operation of the former Office of the Northern Cultural Communities, updated in 1995. n2These data are not quite consistent with the data found in Katutubo Directory (1996). They are used, however, because of the regional and provincial breakdown.


or descriptive names of at least 450 plants, 75 birds, most of the snakes, fish insects, and animals, and of even 20 species of ants…

Moreover, the Aetas have

a thorough and sensitive ecological awareness. Many plants have no direct use or value in themselves, but are important to the Negritos because of the relationships of the plant with the animal and insect world.

Aside from their knowledge of the content of the environment and their appreciation of the ecological interconnectedness, the Aetas are also attributed with knowledge of ways to deal with the environment. Jocano (1978:5) said:

Harsh environmental conditions highlight the precarious situation of the Pinatubo Negrito. How they survive in the face of such conditions is a tribute to their ingenuity. The ingenuity is evidenced by their creative adaptation to the ecological environment.

The Aetas’ ancestral land is the repository of their knowledge and world-views. Their clear awareness of the environment and their keen respect for its natural processes constitute for them a kind of intellectual identity.

Mode of Subsistence. Aetas are commonly known as hunter-gatherers and there is a tendency among lowlanders to pigeonhole them in that activity. There are evidences, however, showing that the Aetas might have engaged in swidden agriculture long before the Spanish colonial era. J. Peter Brosius (1990: 23) noted:


Based upon historical accounts, the present degree of environmental degradation, the current large number of cultigen varieties, and current population densities, the initial adoption of swidden agriculture by Ayta cannot have been a recent phenomenon.

Accounts that single out hunting-gathering activities as the Aetas’ sole means of subsistence are either biased, pre-conceived notions or they point to the far and mythical past of the Aetas’ history.

Aeta old tools

According to Brosius, the first wave of expansion of the Aetas’ swidden system began with the introduction of so-called Old World crops of Southeast Asia, such as taro, yams, bananas and rice. The second wave occurred with the introduction of New World (American) crops, such as sweet potato or kamote, corn and cassava.

The Aytas’ swiddening system and diet evolved in a way that it became highly dependent on New World crops. In Fox’s research of Aetas’ diet in the 1950s, it revealed that 70% of it was consisted of New World crops and 53% was even derived from a single New World crop, which is sweet potato. On the other hand, Shimizu (1989:27) observes that contemporary Aetas now have high demand for rice. Root crops, however, remain as their major source of food because of the low productivity of upland rice farming.

In addition to swidden agriculture, which until now remains as their primary means of livelihood, the Aetas also depend on terrestrial, avian and riverine resources. These complement their carbohydrate-rich diet with proteins. The Aetas also engaged in trading.

Settlement. The typical Aetas or Aeta groups may be characterized with extreme variability and mobility. This entails an equally unsteady pattern and style of settlement.

Fox (1952:186) also observed the transient settlements of the Aetas and he attributed it to at least three factors. First is their practice of kaingin since the decrease in soil fertility compels them to look for other cultivable fields. The second factor is superstition as they tend to leave their present house if there is frequent sickness or somebody died in it. The third is a


psychological factor because they seem to have a “fear of modern responsibilities of citizenship, taxation and governmental control”.

Brosius (1990: 30-31) reported that “Ayta settlements range in size from single isolated lean-tos, to rather large communities of five to fifteen or more thatched houses”. Cluster of two or three huts is most common. In his account on relatively large settlements, he cited economic consideration and conflicts as possible reasons for dispersal. The Aeta settlement will commonly be found within the 500 to 1000 m in altitude.

Note, however, that the Aetas are only semi-nomadic people. Their mobility is limited to the village and the swidden sites. Shimizu (1989:7) explains that “the Aytas change the location of their swidden fields but situate these near and parallel to the center”. This center being referred to is the village, which is the largest Aeta political unit as described below.

Institutional Structure. The Aetas’ institutional structure has three levels: [1] the nuclear family or mitata-anak, [2] the family grouping or camp, and [3] the village (Brosius:1990; Shimizu:1989). The nuclear family shares in household and socio-economic activities, primarily in clearing and working in one or two swiddens per year. It is also common among Aeta nuclear families to live together with elderly parents.

The family grouping unit may be composed of a single household or a group of households. The members include parents and their married children. They also communally share food and work in the fields.

Aeta Family in Belbel, Baytan, an original Aeta village in Botolan, Zambales near Mount Pinatubo. They are among the Aeta families who decided to go back to their old village.

The village or district level, also called sakop, is a recognized and named area. These villages, according to Brosius (1990:33), average “between 15 and 20 square kilometers in size [but] are not discrete bounded territories”. Most members of a sakop are related by blood.

In the political dimension, which exists mainly in the village level, Brosius (1990:34) identified a kapitan as “an influential individual who functions as a mediator of both internal and external conflict or who, in the case of an open conflict, may assume a leadership based on popular support.” The elders also have a particularly special role in decision-making in the Aetas’ social life.

At any rate, the most prominent features of the Aetas’ social set-up are its family orientedness and their strong sense of “mutual cooperation and interdependence”. Perhaps the downside of these features is the “mutual distrust” among Aetas not related by blood or marriage”.


Spirituality. The spirituality of the Aetas is best manifested in their concept of health and disease. The curing ritual is the Aetas’ most important ritual, of which the manganito séance is the most refined and well-developed.

The Aetas believe in the soul, or kaelwa, as a separate entity dwelling in the body. Any disturbance in the body, such as disease and long illness, is attributed to the weakening of the soul. In the case of death, on the other hand, the Aetas believe that the soul remains existing. According to Shimizu (1989:47-48), the Aetas do not have a clear idea of death, but there is a belief that the dead proceeds to the “summit of Mount Pinatubo” and live in unity with the “collective minaci (all the dead)”. The Aetas believe that the dead can bring sickness and bad luck. This is, in fact, as mentioned above, one of the reasons for their constant movement from one settlement to another.

The spiritual realm of the Aetas includes the belief in environment spirits, who co-exist with humans. There are two types of environment spirits, namely anito or the good spirit and the kamana or the bad spirit. These spirits may reside in the “forest, trunk of a huge tree, bamboo thicket, rock, stream, cave, and other places or objects.” The Aetas try to maintain harmonious relationship with the anitos. And although anitos are basically friendly, they may retaliate harshly at humans when their territories were harmed or they were offended. To overcome the anito’s displeasure, a langgad3 or gift must be offered.

An Aeta dance mimicking wild animals.

Because of this belief in environment spirits, the Aetas regard nature with extreme caution. This sets an implicit rule among them that natural resources should not be abused and exploited. This also affects their agricultural activities. For instance, they make offerings to the anitos before they start working on a swidden field.

Culture and Society. Shimizu

(1989:1) describes the Aetas’ culture and society as “cold” (based on Levi-Strauss model, 1962). Generally, it means that the

Aetas’ are not so receptive to external influences. Shimizu (ibid.:11-14) cited two reasons for such “coldness”. One, population pressure from the lowland settlers. Two, “the frequent armed attacks and kidnappings of their people for enslavement by the Sambals”. These pushed them farther up in the mountain throughout their history. Another factor that perhaps contributed to the Aetas’ cold society is the strong social relation based on family grouping.

The cold society of the Aetas, however, does not entail a rare interaction with lowlanders. The Aetas’ relation with Sambals could have transpired even during pre-Spanish times. The Aetas’ use of the Sambal language, the lowlanders’ language, according to Shimizu (ibid.:11),

3 Langgad is also offered as a sign of reconciliation with or apology to a fellow Aeta. See below.


indicates a long relationship of the Aetas with the lowlanders, including the locals, the Spaniards and the Americans.

These outside forces generated different reactions from the Aetas. Some decided to be covered under the municipal jurisdiction while others chose to stay in the higher altitude of the mountains as a form of resistance.

According to Shimizu (ibid.:146-147), the Aetas are not exactly closed to, but are rather very selective of, external influences. They adapt only those that they find useful in a certain period of need. Those influences that were adapted were then synthesized within their social norms and institutions. The Aetas’ social mechanisms are, however, so strong that new things are easily neutralized. This is manifested in the phenomenon of langgad, which is a compensation offered to the offended party. Such compensation aims to pacify the offended party and symbolizes the desire to maintain social order. The Aetas are basically peace-loving people.

C. The Mount Pinatubo Eruption

Aetas as the major casualty of the

eruption. The major eruptions of the Mount Pinatubo occurred from June 12-16, 1991. Task Force Pinatubo (cited from Bautista, “The Mount Pinatubo Disaster and the People of Central Luzon,” in Fire and Mud, 1996:153) estimated the number of Aetas affected by the eruption at 7,800 families or 35,000 persons. Bautista and Tadem (1993:12), in the book In the Shadow of the Lingering Mount Pinatubo Disaster, remarks:

Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991

However one looks at it, the Aytas were the prime victims of the volcanic eruption, if secondary effects like lahar and floods are not taken into account. Not only were they displaced much earlier but also moved from one evacuation to another, trembling in fear as they watched explosions of fire and brimstone which signified their God’s displeasure over human transgressions against the mountains. An uprooting from a total way of life became their lot.

From what has been discussed earlier, the effect of the eruption on the Aetas can already be gauged. It destroyed their livelihood and it created turmoil in their psychological and socio-cultural universe.

The experiences of the Aetas during the eruption are beyond description. Their flight from the mountains in search for a safer place was indeed life-threatening. The book Exodus and Eruption documented this life-and-death adventure of the Aetas. Bautista (1996:153) remarked based on the book’s account:


They changed sites with each extension of the danger zone from a 10- to 20-km radius of the volcano, from 20- to 30-km, and finally from 30 to 40 km. Some moved nine times in 1991 before they found semi-permanent relocation sites.

The people were evacuating due to Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991.

The transfer of the victims to various evacuation centers was the next phase of the disaster control. Both local and international agencies contributed to the establishment of the evacuation centers and for the evacuees’ basic needs. Abaya, et al (1993:7) reports that there were a total of 44 evacuation sites built through the efforts of the governments and some non-government organizations (NGO) in 1991. The sites accommodated a total of 120,000 people. Out of the 44 sites, the Aetas could be found in twelve evacuation sites. Latter reports (October 1993) indicated that there were 159 evacuation centers built and operated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, excluding those under the management of non-government organization. These housed about 11,455 families or 54,880 individuals. The Aetas comprised 2.4% of the families or 1.6% of individuals affected by the eruption (Fire and Mud, 1996).

The poor living conditions in the evacuation centers were the worst problem encountered by the evacuees, most especially the Aetas (Abaya et al, 1993:7-8). This led to different types of sickness, such as measles, diarrhea and pneumonia, which were also major causes of death. Of the 538 cases of death recorded by the DOH in one month, 93% were Aetas. Further, 80% of the recorded deaths among the Aetas were children 0-10 years old. Half of the Aeta children were also found malnourished.

The medical volunteers partly blamed the Aetas for their indifference towards, or perhaps fear, of the medication and immunization being provided for them. Thus, the problem of culture arose again.

Abaya et al noted, however, that if it is any consolation, the evacuation of the Aetas from the Mount Pinatubo, no matter how difficult, informed the government of their needs. It exposed to the public the government’s negligence of the Aetas’ welfare.


The Resettlement of the Aetas. From the

Aetas’ several stop-overs in semi-permanent evacuation sites during the eruption episodes, as first phase, to their entry to the actual evacuation centers, as second phase, the Aetas’ initial and partial recovery from the disaster culminated in the establishment of resettlement projects. Botolan, a municipality of Zambales, was a major resettlement location for the Aetas.

There were two resettlement areas and one evacuation center in Botolan that

accommodated the Aetas after the eruption. These are Baquilan and Loob-Bunga Resettlement Sites and Bucao Evacuation Center. The areas were subdivided into sitios, which are composed of contiguous clusters of houses. The Aetas named the sitios in the resettlement after the same name of their sitios in Mount Pinatubo.

The overall coordinating body for the resettlements was the Task Force Mount Pinatubo. It coordinated the projects and activities of the government agencies, non-government organizations and the residents in the resettlement sites. In both resettlement sites, various government agencies extended assistance, such as water sources, roads, health programs and school buildings. A settlement manager in each resettlement site was also assigned to coordinate local activities of various concerns, namely social services, infrastructure, resettlement and livelihood. Moreover, tribal councils were also formed for administrative and/or political fu nctions.

Holding culture and social upbringing as important aspects of survival, the Aetas expectedly experienced difficulty adjusting to this new “environment”. First, they now live in a different place with very different environmental features and content as compared to that in Mount Pinatubo. Second, they are now more accessible to lowlanders and to lowland lifestyles. Similar to their previous encounters with “outsiders” or what they call mga unat, the experience in the resettlement areas generated different actions and reactions from them. Some were able to adapt to their new situation. Some simply expressed resigned satisfaction, i.e. they simply accepted the fact that the resettlement site is an unavoidable substitute for their land in Pinatubo. This is their new home and what is important now is to learn how to get their living from and out of it. But the others, after some time, followed their urge to return to their former home in the Mount Pinatubo. III. Pinatubo Aetas after the Eruption

By any economic standard, the Aetas, in general, live below the poverty threshold. This simply means that they still lack the capacity to meet the basic food and non-food requirement needed to live a healthy life. The National Census and Statistics Board stated in October, 2000, that a family of five should have a monthly income of at least P4,835 satisfy their basic needs. According to an August 2005 study conducted by PDI entitled “Freedom from Hunger: The Aetas’ Quest for Food Security”, the Aetas, on the average, earn a meager P1, 789 monthly (See Table 2).


The eruption of Mount Pinatubo brought more miseries, especially in the first years.

Before the eruption, they could still plow their farms so that they had some food during the harvest season. They could still gather food from their surroundings while waiting for their crops to bear fruits.

The catastrophe changed all these. Because their farms were buried under thick piles of

lahar, they have to settle for what the government and other private donors distributed during their relief operations. A culture of begging unwittingly developed in the process of giving relief goods and dole-outs. It should be noted that this occurred because the Aetas could not return to their farms due to the threat of volcanic debris and that the Aetas, themselves, refused to. Given the opportunity, they would go back to the mountains and cultivate the soil so that they could provide for themselves.

After 13 years, and several relocations since the

eruption, most of the Aeta groups in Zambales are now able to establish their new communities. Some were able to establish new livelihoods.

The same August 2003 study indicated that at the

LoobBunga Resettlement Center the largest source of livelihood in their newfound community is still farming, as shown in Table 2, with 26 out to 59 respondents relying on it (See table 3). However, around 40% of them (23 respondents) engage in seasonal labor to augment their income derived from farming.

Of 31 persons asked, only two owned a piece of land while

27 leased the farms they were working on (See table 4). This suggests that land security is still a problem in the area.

This is a sad state. Considering that the Aetas were

the original inhabitants in the area, majority of them have no right to claim ownership of the land that their ancestors developed. Ironically, Shimizu (1989:6) discovered that as early as 1917, the American colonial government made a declaration, establishing two reservation areas for the Aetas.

If the Aetas don’t posses the right to land by virtue of

the Torrens system of land titling, they also don’t have the luxury to assume that they cannot be kicked out of the land they are cultivating. The experiences of their ancestors continue haunting their memories.

Table 3 Frequency of livelihood sources (responses), Aeta (LAKAS), August 2003

Livelihood Source Frequency Crop Farming 26 Seasonal/occasional hired labor 23 Tenant farming 7 Livestock raising 3 Total 59

Table 4 Frequency of tenurial agreement (residence), Aeta (LAKAS), August 2003 Tenurial Agreement Frequency Leased 27 Owned 2 Usufruct 1 Other 1 Total 31

Table 5 Number of daily meals, Aeta (LAKAS), August 2003 Frequency f %

twice a day 5 16.1 thrice a day 26 83.9

Total 31 100 Mode thrice a day


Land security is also food security. If they don’t have enough land that can produce what they need then they must produce something to sell to obtain cash to buy things they need. The Aetas, or any farmer for that matter, should have sufficient farm are in order to do this.

Although the Aetas have limited resources at the moment, majority of them (83.9%) still eat at least thrice a day. This is shown in Table 5 of the study conducted among the Aetas in LoobBunga. The food they eat is not always nutritional and good for their health and well being.

When asked if food shortages occur in the

household, 83.9% of them responded in the affirmative, while 16% said that they don’t experience food shortages. Moreover, 73.1% said that they seldom experience food shortage while no family is frequently short of food. When there is a lack of food, the most common response of the Aetas in LoobBunga is to seek food from outside of the community. They usually seek other jobs outside the community. Sometimes, and they are sad about this, they beg for alms.

The study further showed that about 95% of the Aetas in that area go to the local store or the market to buy some provisions. The local market is around five kilometers from the community and could be reached by public transportation in five minutes. About one-third or 29% of the respondents said that they experienced health problems as a consequence of food shortage.

The survey shows that providing food for the family is already hard enough that they could no longer provide for the other basic necessities like clothing and education. Food shortages still occur at the family or household level.

It should also be noted that the survey clearly shows that the food requirements of the Aetas have not been adequately met by their meager resources. A major step must be taken to stop this.

Table 6

Perception on food availability, Aeta (LAKAS), August 2003

Response F % Enough of the kinds we want to eat 1 3.2Enough but not always the kinds of food we want 28 90.3Sometimes not enough to eat 2 6.5Often not enough 0 0Total 31 100

Mode

Enough but not always the kinds of food we want to eat

Table 7

Incidence of food shortages -- household level, Aeta (LAKAS), August 2003

Response F % No 5 16.1Yes 26 83.9Total 31 100Mode Yes

Table 8 Food shortages -- household level, Aeta (LAKAS), August 2003

Response F % Rarely 6 23.1Seldom 19 73.1Occasionally 1 3.8Often 0 0Frequently 0 0Total 26 100Mode Seldom


IV. RECLAIMING THE AETAS’ LAND

It started with an ordinary community organizing work of PDI wherein the Aetas were able to relate their community need for an agricultural land and their desire to reclaim their ancestral domain. The Aetas in the resettlement areas, or more particularly those who decided to remain there, were the pioneer proponents of pushing for this need as they begin to suffer one big limitation of the resettlement program. This limitation was the program’s inadequate, if not lack of, provision for agricultural lands for people, such as the Aetas, who depend on farming for their livelihood.

PDI first validated this need with the Aeta communities after which a series of consultations was conducted in connection with the Aetas’ land claim. These consultations have solicited involvement and actions from both the LGU, NCIP and PDI. Among the government agencies who got involved were the National Commission for Indigenous People (NCIP), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Philippine Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). From the non-government sector, the Project Development Institute (PDI) had the most visible engagement activity with the Botolan Aetas.

The consultations being referred to are the following:

1. Agrarian Reform in Zambales: Development within Reach, held last July 27, 2000 in Zambales;

2. Ang Lupang Ninuno ng mga Aeta ng Botolan: Consultation-Workshop and Planning, held last August 15, 2000 in Zambales; and

3. The Aetas’ Land and Life: Prevailing Issues on the Tenth Year of the Mount Pinatubo Eruption, held last September 21, 2000 in Quezon City.

The Aetas elevated their concern to a public forum when they spoke in the July 27 provincial conference. It was a simple follow-up on their request to go back to their home on Mount Pinatubo.

Realizing the Aetas’ predicament, PDI invited the Aetas to a consultation-workshop on August 15. It was supposed to be an in-depth and focused discussion on three aspects of the Aetas’ living condition, namely land security, delivery of support services and organizational maturity. In the discussion on the land component, the Aetas narrated stories of their ancestors’ historical presence in the Mount Pinatubo. This introduced a very substantial land claim for the Aetas based on ancestral domain. This is even strengthened by the fact that a CADC awarded to the Aetas in 1996. Nevertheless, in the formulation of their plan of action, they stipulated their intention to pursue the acquisition of the ancestral value of their land and despite lahar risk.


For a broader discussion, PDI decided to bring the Aetas’ land issue to the national level through the conference, The Aetas’ Land and Life: Prevailing Issues on the Tenth Year of Mount Pinatubo Eruption,” held last September 21. One output of the conference was the assurance from Dr. Punongbayan of PHIVOLCS that lahar risk categorization must not apply if the land will be used for agricultural purposes. Another output was the reaffirmation of the ancestral value of the land and the critical question on ownership of the land.

Summing up, the Aetas’ struggle to reclaim their ancestral domain started since 1957 wherein, there have been a series of dialogues on the ancestral domain claim of the Aetas.

Advocacy Directions

The government awarded four Certificates of Ancestral Domain Claim or CADCs to the Aetas of Botolan, Zambales. The four CADCs cover a total area of 44,803 hectares. These are located in the barangays of Poonbato (CADC-069: 8,700 ha), Villar & Burgos (CADC-068: 22,400 ha), San Felipe (CADC-043: 7,500 ha) and Cabangan (CADC-042: 6,203 ha).

The Aeta CADCs were given through the DENR Administrative Order No. 2, Series of 1993. This order provides rules for the “identification, delineation and recognition of ancestral lands and ancestral domains” of indigenous people or indigenous cultural communities. Note, however, that the CADC merely establishes the claim of the indigenous group. It does not guarantee the tenurial right of the claimants.

Such limitation of the

CADC was finally overcome when the Congress passed into law the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997 or Republic Act No. 8371. Through this law, the indigenous people can avail of the title of ownership for their ancestral domains or ancestral lands, among other rights and privileges. Currently, the Aetas are in possession of CADC and they have already applied for the conversion of these CADCs into CADT. Section 56 of IPRA has a provision on Existing Property Rights Regimes, which stipulates as follows:

A meeting for signing of Memorandum of Agreement between Aeta Organizations, Project Development Institute (PDI), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and the local government unit in Botolan, Zambales was held at Botolan Municipal Hall on December 29, 2005. Photo shows Region III NCIP Director Salong Sunggod explaining the significance of the meeting.

Property rights within the ancestral domains already existing and/or vested upon effectivity of this Act, shall be recognized and respected.

In view of this clause, the concern now is the processing of the ancestral domain title for the Aetas to reclaim the Mount Pinatubo.


The organized Aetas, together with the PDI, LGU and the NCIP formed a Special Provincial Task Force (SPTF) to focus on the work of processing the ancestral domain title, as follows: planning of activities to be undertaken, tasking on who should do the work, after which participatory action research was done through consultation and interviews with the tribal elders to trace the genealogy of the Aetas. Validation with the Aeta communities followed to verify the genealogy. What follows is an Information and Education Campaign (IEC) to orient the Aetas on the IPRA law, their roles and responsibilities, their rights and welfare as stipulated in the Indigenous People’s Rights Act.

After gathering the primary data, developing the genealogy and the IEC, ocular and land survey to identify the boundaries and landmarks were conducted. Revalidation of the area maps with the communities ensue after this. Documentation of their socio-cultural profile through their traditional practices and culture were also done. These documents were filed into one claim book and submitted to NCIP. The NCIP provincial office first

endorsed the claim book to the NCIP regional office. The second endorsement was made by the NCIP Regional office to the national office. The NCIP National office submit the claim book to the Commission, the highest policy making body of NCIP, for endorsement and proper titling of the ancestral domain. The Claim book was posted and published at the provincial level for thirty days for any counter claims. After 30 days the Claim book was approved. The Claim Book for the Botolan ancestral domain title has already been approved by the DENR. The Claim book goes to the LRA for the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Titling. Hopefully the CADT will be awarded to the Botolan Aetas this September 2009.

The Ancestral Domain and Sustainable Development Protection Plan (ADSDPP) is now being developed, through a tripartite arrangement between the Aetas of Botolan, PDI and the LGU. Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) is now being practiced.

One significant aspect of their claim is the preservation of what is left of Mount Pinatubo. For the Aetas, part of what is left after Mount Pinatubo eruption is the Mount Pinatubo itself in its post-eruption tranquility. The Aetas believe that the relatively peaceful state of the volcano right now is sufficient reason to inhabit its surroundings once again, notwithstanding another eruption.

An Aeta leader says,

“Huwag mong tingnan ang panganib. Ito’y isang sapalaran para mabuhay ang pamilya.”4

It is difficult to read the minds of the Aetas with respect to Mount Pinatubo because it is both a symbol of a sacred home, according to tradition, and a looming danger, based on experience. Thus, their willingness to take risk in this area is quite puzzling to outsiders and a 4 “Don’t bother with the danger. It is a gamble where the family’s welfare is at stake.”


stubborn attitude for authorities. At any rate, the Aetas’ long experience with the volcano entitles them to give a remark like this:

Alam namin kung kailan puputok ang bulkan. Nararamdaman namin iyon.5

This remark does not say that the Aetas are not afraid, but only that they need not be afraid of their situation. While this remark did not save many Aetas during the 1991 catastrophe, it can be understood as a statement of independence and self-reliance. From the development perspective, allowing the Aetas such independence, as manifested in this capacity to decide for themselves, can perhaps help in developing in them political maturity. This is not a wrong decision, trusting them to understand the direction of their decision and the way to correct it allows them to experience a healthy political process.

An old Aeta woman relates their history and belief about Mount Pinatubo in PDI-NCIP sponsored Genealogy Census and Consultation Workshop held in Pasambot, Botolan, Zambales on March 10, 2005.

The government can contribute in this political process. It need not contradict the Aetas’

brave choice to stay in Mount Pinatubo, for that may somehow curtail their autonomy given the incalculable value of the place to them. The government may rather support them with constant monitoring, advisories and other protective measures. IV. RECLAIMING THE AETAS’ WELFARE

Clearly, it is not only about reclaiming the land. At the core of it are the Aetas, and their will to survive in their own unique way. But whether or not it pushes through, the need to uplift the Aetas’ living condition must still be attended to. The condition there speaks of how the government’s national development program grossly failed to reach out to remote rural areas, particularly where indigenous people live.

A. Threats to Food Security:

It will take at least 2-1/2 hours to cover the distance by motor vehicle from the foothills of Mount Pinatubo during dry season but half a day to traverse the road during the rainy months. Since the Aetas ordinarily use carabaos, it takes them half a day to reach the market. This makes transporting and marketing of goods very difficult.

The Aetas deliver their fresh produce to the town market twice a month. They can do it weekly if not for the transportation problem. Such constraint also puts them at a disadvantage in the market. Their fresh produce must be sold as soon as possible time to avoid spoilage. The 5 “We know when the volcano will erupt. We feel that.”


Aetas do not have a competitive edge and they are forced to give in to the very low price offered by some traders, and become unwitting victims of unfair practices.

The impoverished condition of the Aetas is further aggravated because the Aetas are largely unorganized. There is a need to consolidate and strengthen their ranks.

Aeta leader Carling Domulot (left) leads Pasambot Aeta farmers in their vegetable product demostration.

Pasambot Aeta farmers shows visiting Botolan Mayor Yap (middle) their just harvested vegetable products.

Inadequate support services threaten the welfare of the Aetas on Mount Pinatubo, as well

as those who plan to relocate there, as follows: absence of health care, lack of education, insufficient government assistance for food production. There is no intention of enumerating the many basic services that the Aetas lack, but perhaps the ones mentioned already paint a picture of their abject poverty and deprived condition.

Small and large mining corporations also encroach on the Aeta lands in Zambales exploring for mineral deposits like chromite, nickel and ores to the detriment of the Aeta communities. The mining causes land slides, erosion, and siltation. Carlito Dumulot, Chairman of the LAKAS community, says that they are not against development; all they want is for the mining corporations to be responsible and properly inform the people of the effects of mining — whether it is good or bad. Definitely, there is some degree of environmental degradation in Zambales.

Aside from this, the cash economy — one of the main features of the mainstream society — was also institutionalized in the Aeta communities in the lowlands after the eruption and their displacement. As one of the leaders put it:

“Ngayon, mahal na and bilihin. Ibinabayad na lang sa lupa ang mga naaani. Babayaran mo ang pataba, babayran ang kuliglig, pag-aararo, pagbabayo. Babayaran mo ang marami mong pinagkakautangan. Kaya sa karanasan namin, wala talagang natitira sa amin.” (Prices are high these days. The harvests are just used to pay for the land. You will pay for the fertilizer, the tractor, the harrow and the miller. You will pay for everyone you have become indebted to. In our experience, nothing is left for us).


If they do not have cash in the resettlement areas, they will not eat, and will be left deeper into abject poverty. The very producers of food are themselves food insecure.

The Aetas in the resettlement areas, who were able to get farmlands, realized that the lands were not as productive as their own ancestral domain. The harvests in their ancestral domain were bountiful due to its naturally fertile soil. But now their farmlands are very acidic. The Aetas were influenced by the Department of Agriculture to use chemical fertilizers and high yielding rice varieties from IRRI. The Aetas had no choice but to use these farm inputs.

Given these alarming scenarios, The Project Development Institute, which prides itself in building self-reliant communities through people’s initiatives, began formulating plans with the Botolan Aetas for a development program using agrarian reform as a framework for Aetas displaced by the Pinatubo eruption. The issues addressed concern rural poverty, landlessness and helplessness. The main methods used to combat these problems are organization building, skills training, values formation and additional farm and off-farm livelihood activities for the Aetas.

(The Project Development Institute (PDI) was founded in 1991 and immediately started its rural development and advocacy work to help the people of Zambales get over their immense predicament. To consolidate its program in the province, PDI started the community development program in Zambales to help augment the lives of the Aetas and farmers affected by the Pinatubo eruption. Even with the pouring in of relief effort and rehabilitation from the government and other development agencies to assist the displaced families, PDI believes that giving them land is the key to alleviate their dire situation. Extra attention through guidance and livelihood program will lead them to the road of self-reliance and attain a sustainable farm production system. Through PDI’s effort of promoting a better and meaningful life amidst the harsh living condition on the foothills of Mount Pinatubo, the people of Zambales will have a better chance of conquering the ills they face and increase their chance of having a better life.)

B. Current Use of Indigenous Knowledge System and Practices that Address Food Security

The Aetas’ traditional livelihood has been based on swidden agriculture, gathering of

forest products, backyard livestock raising, and growing root crops, vegetables and horticultural crops. With assistance from the PDI, these traditional economic activities will establish their foothold on their environment and solidify their claim over their ancestral domain.

PDI also provided assistance for the Aetas in ensuring the strengthening of their organization by initiating values formation, and also providing them with training on tecl-mical skills and enterprise development, including project development and management. The LAKAS Aetas also developed a market/trading post where the Aetas can sell their products or trade them with other goods. Aside from facilitating the release of their ancestral domain title, PDI has also facilitated the land acquisitions for the Aetas in the lowlands through the agrarian reform program of the government.


Social Capital Formations and Strengthening of People’s Organization.

PDI has placed social capital formation as a primary concern so that the Aetas may avoid the fate of many people’s organizations and cooperatives organized in Zambales that are now inactive. In the early years after the Pinatubo eruption, cooperatives and other organizations started to fold-up because the basis of unity was financial, or the availability of funds. Many of the cooperatives vanished after receiving loans from banks and other lending institutions.

Bukluran ng mga Katutubo sa Luzon (BUKAL) General Assembly held in Project Development Institute office in Bangantalinga, Zambales this June 25, 2009. Photo shows the elected (for the 2nd time) BUKAL Chairman Carling Domulot presides over the assembly.

Learning from these experiences, PDI paid close attention to the formation and

strengthening of its P0 (People’s Organization) partners. Data gathering and regular visits to the target areas were not enough to ensure the continuous flow of the program towards success. The community organizers of the PDI immersed and integrated with the people in the target communities to know the issues and how to help them cope up well with any situation. From this organizing method a federation known as the Bukluran Ng Mga Katutubo sa Luzon (BUKAL) was born.

After the acquisition of agrarian lands and the processing of the ancestral domain title, the Aeta with PDI concentrated its effort on establishing off-farm and extra farm activities to support the Aeta families engaged in production. The off-farm livelihood activities will provide a safety net for the Aetas in the event of a crop failure. A thorough assessment and planning has been conducted with the Aetas at the start of the year to fully prepare them for the coming planting season, this is in consideration of their indigenous knowledge system and practices. Through all these struggles, the Aetas of Zambales have sustained their indigenous knowledge system and practices in planting crops. The Aetas at the LAKAS Community in Botolan, Zambales, are known for the rituals that they practice with regards to food security before and after the Mount Pinatubo eruption. They conducted practices rooted on the ways of their ancestors. Inevitably, the use of these practices continues up to today for the preservation of their culture and social practices. The settlement in LAKAS Community further preserved their cultural heritage.


The Aetas depended a lot on agriculture as a primary source of food while hunting stands as secondary source. In both livelihood activities, the Aetas managed to retain their indigenous practices for their own protection and preservation. According to Carlito Dumulot:

“The preservation of their culture and tradition are critical for the well being of the future generation. In order for the younger Aetas to be proud of their heritage, for them to honor and respect their ancestral land because for them land is life.”

Today, Aeta farmers in Pasambot, Botolan, Zambales used organic method of planting rice.

The Aetas have two main agricultural practices: swidden agriculture and lowland

agriculture. Swidden Agriculture is the traditional mode of farming that they learned way back from the time of their ancestors. Palay-bundok (native rice) and other types of native fruits are grown in the uplands. They have their own way of seed-banking to preserve the native plants to be planted on the mountains. They were able to identify 15 kinds of palay-bundok such as binundok, talibo, kinampanya, kinapitan and salumanay. The seedlings of paho or the native mango, amucao or the wild banana, native guava, sweet potato, other fruit-bearing trees together with wild trees called lawaan and pangili are also kept in the seed storehouse of each family.

Before any land preparation can commence, whether in the lowlands or in the uplands,

the Aetas stage rituals. They must pay homage to the lands and to the spirits that live on it. They usually offer a native chicken to appease Apo Namalyari and provide them with good harvest. Otherwise, they believe they would contract an illness once they continue clearing-up an area unfavorable to these spirits. Then they would start sketching a cross in the target areas while praying for premonitions which can be sent in dreams. When they were visited by bad dreams, they would forego planting or transfer to another area. They call this practice pagpapatáw. The farming process itself uses the “bayanihan” method or collective work which originated in rural context. Farming in this area will persist if they receive favorable signs.

At present, pagpapatáw is still practiced as a prerequisite to swidden farming. The Aetas in LAKAS, adults and youth alike, still go up Mount Pinatubo to do the swidden farming. These indigenous practices are taught to the younger Aetas.


With the promise of a CADT, they now regularly go to their ancestral land to utilize the

lands through swidden farming. The Aetas also believe that different

signs also affect success in farming. They call this the paturô. The Aetas organize the tudling, or the row of their plants, towards the direction where the sun rises. They also believe that the best time for planting, especially of vegetables and sweet potatoes, is during the season when the skies abound with stars. They believe that the vegetables will be much more fruitful and the sweet potato will be meatier during this period.

Sweet potato plantation at Pasambot, Botolan, Zambales.

Indigenous practices are also practiced in the lowlands. The previously mentioned

Bayanihan system or what they call as tubawô persists as a practice even in the lowlands. At the onset of new farming technologies like Sustainable Agriculture, the Aetas still practice tubawô to help their fellow Aetas. Families which need assistance from their fellow community members invite the nanays and tatays of the areas especially during land preparation, planting and harvest seasons with no monetary returns. They receive no payment but they are provided with food during the working period and a portion of their harvests. They call this practice bahaginan. The sense of community of the Aetas has remained intact through the generations.

Hunting and gathering are the second source of livelihood for the Aetas. Bahaginan is

also done during the hunting activities of the Aetas. Once they are able to catch a wild boar or any animal in the forests, they share portions allotted to other community members. Because they were blessed with good hunting, they also offer thanksgiving to Apo Namalyari. Offering to the spirits — often done in their respective homes — is still practiced by the LAKAS Aetas. During harvest season, three sets of offerings are prepared. The first is for Apo Namalyari, the second for the spirits in the land and the last for their ancestors. The offerings are food cooked by the families to be served together with coffee. Pagtutulo or lighting of a candle is also done to signify the start of the offering. This lasts for five minutes. The offerings are not thrown away or consumed by the families. They continue to be gratified by good harvests and at certain times, they offer a portion of their harvests.

A23- year-old youth leader, Noel, said:

“Mahal ng mga magulang namin ang lupa pati ang mga trabahong kaakibat nito. Gusto nilang makitang kahit sa mga bata, ito ay nagagawa pa din sa kanilang komunidad. Masasabi kong mahal ko ang lupa. (Our parents love the land and the tasks accompanying it which was mainly farming. They want to see it being practiced by the youth in our community. I can say that I also love our land).”


Aetas bring their children to the farmlands to assist them. It is one of the ways to transfer skills, knowledge and the sense of value of the land to their children.

In terms of governance, the Aetas still follow their age old three-level institutional structure: (1) the nuclear family or mitara-anak, (2) the family grouping or canip and (3) the village. The nuclear family shares in household and socio_economic activities, primarily in clearing and working in one or two swiddens per year. It is also common among Aeta nuclear families to live together with elderly parents.

The family grouping unit may be composed of a single household or a group of households. The members include parents and their married children. They also communally share food and work in the fields. The village or district level, also called sakop, is a recognized and named area. These villages average “between 15 and 20 square kilometers in size {but] are not discrete bounded territories”. Most members of a sakop are related by blood.

In the political dimension, which exists mainly at the village level, the kapitan serves as head and is “an influential individual who functions as a mediator of both internal and external conflicts, or who, in the case of an open conflict, may assume leadership based on popular support.” The elders also have a particularly special role in decision-making in the Aetas’ social life.

At any rate, the most prominent features of the Aetas’ social set-up are its family orientedness and their strong sense of “mutual cooperation and interdependence.” Perhaps the downside of these features is the “mutual distrust” among Aetas not related by blood or marriage.

The spirituality of the Aetas is best manifested in their concept of health and disease. The curing ritual is the Aetas’ most important ritual, of which the manganito séance is the most refined and well-developed.


The Aetas believe in the soul, or kaelwa, as a separate entity dwelling in the body. Any disturbance in the body, such as disease and long illness, is attributed to the weakening of the soul. In the case of death, the Aetas believe that the soul continues to exist. According to Shimizu (1989:47-48), the Aetas do not have a clear idea of death, but there is a belief that the dead proceeds to the “summit of Mount Pinatubo” and live in unity with the “collective minaci (all the dead).” The Aetas believe that the dead can bring sickness and bad luck. This is, in fact, as mentioned above, one of the reasons for their constant movement from one settlement to another.

An Aeta cultural presentation depicting death of a love one.

The spiritual realm of the Aetas includes the belief in environment spirits, who co-exist with humans. There are two types of environment spirits, namely anito or the good spirit and the kamana or the bad spirit. These spirits may reside in the “forest, trunk of a huge tree, bamboo thicket, rock, stream, cave, and other places or objects.” The Aetas try to maintain harmonious relationships with the anitos. Anitos are basically friendly, although they may retaliate harshly at humans when their territories are harmed or when they are offended. To overcome the anito’s displeasure, a langgad6 or gift must be offered.

Because of this belief in environment spirits, the Aetas treat nature with extreme caution.

This sets an implicit rule among them that natural resources should not be abused and exploited. This also affects their agricultural activities. For instance, they make offerings to the anitos before they start working on a swidden field. V. Conclusions and Recommendations:

The welfare provision for the Aetas can be addressed through the collective effort of the Aetas of Zambales with the support of NGOs, such as PDI, and other participants from various sectors. These are sectors that are willing and committed to advocate for the Aetas’ right to their ancestral domain and productive life. In all these efforts, the ultimate aim is to assist the Aetas in the establishment of an autonomous and self-reliant community. The advocacy for the Aetas’ claim to their land and life is, in effect, an advocacy for development. The eruption of the Mount Pinatubo in 1991 was a very loud and explosive wake_up call for both the government and society at large to pay attention to the neglected condition of the Aetas. The Aetas’ direct and long-term exposure to mainstream society since the 1991 eruption has been a clear culture shock for them. It generated various reactions. Some accepted the sad and

6 Langgad is also offered as a sign of reconciliation with or apology to a fellow Aeta. See below.


hard fact of being expelled from their home on the mountain. Most have persisted in rebuilding their lives back from where they started. Land is the lifeblood of the Aetas. They depend on the land for their food security, which the resettlement program has failed to deliver. This is the basic reason why many Aeta families want to return to Mount Pinatubo. The lahar risk status is still a big obstacle. In the meantime, it is important to find a legal way to allow Aetas to have access to and use their ancestral land.

The current condition of the Aetas, particularly with respect to the ancestral land, is now certain. However, it still entails a continuing process of struggle and engagement until the CADT has been awarded to them. The process has been long and arduous, but one benefit from all of this is the social and political education of the Aeta community.

In this regard, even if they are largely integrated into mainstream society, their indigenous institutions and practices will continue to endure and persist.

The Aetas are a distinct indigenous people, different from the lowlanders. The Aetas’ strength and courage is shown in their steadfastness and persistence in holding to their indigenous institutions and practices in the face of immense pressure from mainstream society.

The Aetas must assert their control over their lands, territories and natural resources for food production. They must begin to respond to changing conditions and eliminate risks and threats to food security and traditional medicine, as well as practices associated with their community. The government must pursue initiatives that advance traditions and lead to the adoption of appropriate and sustainable farming methods that marry western science with traditional knowledge. The Aetas must continue their practice of ceremonies, dances, prayers, songs, stories and other cultural traditions related to the use of traditional foods and subsistence practices. They must also institutionalize mechanisms for transmission of food-related traditional knowledge and practices for the use of future generations.

The Aetas affirmative action in continuing their indigenous knowledge system and practices must be upheld, nurtured, and preserved.


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