Aeta kids in Pampanga get 5 new learning centers
Inside the Clark Freeport is an ongoing program trying to develop trust between Aetas and the state-owned Clark Development Corp. (CDC). The education of Aeta children is a component in the program, called Pagsasarili, that former CDC chair Jose de Jesus began in 2019. (Photo by Tonette T. Orejas)
CLARK FREEPORT—The education of Aeta children in northern Clark has received a big boost after the Bloomberry Cultural Foundation Inc. opened two of five learning centers it is constructing in the Sacobia sub-zone on a P47-million grant, officials said.
The state-owned Clark Development Corp. (CDC), Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, Bloomberry and OB Montessori opened two Pagsasarili Family Care centers at Marcos Village in Mabalacat City, Pampanga and Sto. Niño in Bamban, Tarlac last March 21.
The Pagsasarili program has three components: pre-school education, cacao planting for chocolate bar making, and the trading post Ayta Na, according to former CDC chair Jose de Jesus, who began the corporate social responsibility program in 2019.
He continued to support the program by serving as a consultant.
CDC chairman Edgardo Pamintuan said Bloomberry’s P47-million allotment has “pushed the program forward.”
Three more structures are being built in Sitio Calapi, also in Marcos Village and in Sitios Burog and San Martin, both in Bamban.
At Monday’s launch, Pamintuan urged Aetas to “unite and work with the CDC” in a long-delayed joint management agreement for the use of some 10,000 hectares covered by Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title 025A in the sub-zone.
De Jesus said the Pagsasarili program helps the CDC and Aetas “develop trust” while its pre-school education component prepares the Aeta children for learning.
The pandemic required the first 50 learners to use modules, according to Vilma Mercado, one of four Aeta pre-school educators here.
Bloomberry, the social development arm of Solaire Resort & Casino, has increased its presence in Pampanga by helping fund the construction of a government-operated hospital that solely serves overseas Filipino workers, Bloomberry executive director Filipina Laurena said in an interview.
