Subic Aeta village gets health clinic, school building from SBMA

Members of the Pastolan Ayta tribe in Subic Bay Freeport receive from Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority P4.9 million worth of community facilities, which include a health clinic and a school building. (Contributed photo)

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) have turned over P4.9 million worth of community facilities to the Pastolan Ayta tribe here recently.

The facilities, which consist of a healthcare clinic and a school building, were expected to serve the 330 families living in the Aeta village.

Wilma Eisma, SBMA chair and administrator, on Friday said the project demonstrates the agency’s commitment to promoting the welfare of the indigenous community particularly the Ambala Ayta Tribe of Pastolan, whose ancestral lands form part of this free port.

It was funded under a grant signed by SBMA, the Ayta tribe, and the National Commission on Indigenous People.

“I will do everything I can to give what is rightfully yours under the agreement,” Eisma told the Ayta community during the formal turnover of the facilities recently.

Barangay health workers will run the clinic but SBMA will also provide a medical doctor to see patients at the clinic regularly.

The new school building will be converted into rooms for Mathematics and Science classes, aside from serving as additional classrooms for Grade 4 to 6 pupils who previously shared just one place. Joanna Rose Aglibot/lzb