SBMA pact with Aetas in Bataan splits tribes

HERMOSA, Bataan – A large parcel of land that straddles the ancestral domain of Aetas here and the Subic Bay Freeport has become a source of conflict among members of the indigenous community.

This surfaced even as a joint management agreement (JMA) between the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and the tribe’s representatives was about to be finalized.

SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia said the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) validated the JMA between the agency and the indigenous community of Pastolan on July 5. But the pact, he said, needed to go through the validation process to protect the Aetas’ rights.

Once the JMA with the SBMA has been approved by the NCIP, about 300 indigenous peoples families living in an upland community here will benefit from it, he said.

Aeta tribal council chieftain Conrado Frenilla said the JMA covered 4,842 hectares, which were given a certificate of ancestral domain title (CADT) by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2009.

Another group

The CADT empowers the Aetas to negotiate with the SBMA, which must now obtain their consent and approval for the use of those lands.

But Frenilla said not all members of the community approved the JMA.

“[A few Aeta families] are siding with Wamsip [Welfare and Management Services for Indigenous Peoples], a non-government organization that wants to help get [funds] from the SBMA. But they are asking 30 percent of [whatever amount they can get from the agency for their services],” Frenilla said.

A copy of the JMA showed that the SBMA would give the Aeta community of Pastolan 5 percent of the rent of any locator there starting May 2009. The SBMA would also provide livelihood assistance to Aeta families, ranging from P20,000 to P40,000 yearly for 25 years. A school building and a health clinic would be built in the community.

The SBMA is also giving them a P100,000 gift every year for celebration of fiestas and holidays.

Several companies have put up facilities in some of the areas covered by the CADT since the inception of the SBMA in 1992. These are found in the Subic Bay Industrial Park and the Japanese Techno Park, as well as residential communities like Binictican inside the free port.

Garcia said it was the first time that the Aetas are being included in the earnings of the SBMA. “The JMA formalizes that structure. The Aetas will share in the income [of the SBMA] from every locator there,” he said.

Wamsip officials, accompanied by a tribal leader who is contesting the JMA with SBMA, tried to enter the Pastolan area during the validation process on Tuesday but  were stopped by SBMA forest rangers.

Wamsip spokesman Alan Ruiz said they did not care if SBMA did not recognize their group.

“Our concern is for the IPs [indigenous peoples] to fight for their right. That’s our advocacy – to help them and stand with them, whatever it takes,” Ruiz told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“With regard to the 30 percent [fee], we can waive that. But the problem is SBMA violated the rights of the IPs,” he said.

He said barring Wamsip officials from entering the SBMA area was “highly illegal and a harassment [of our people].”

Afraid

“Why are they afraid to reveal the truth to the commissioner of NCIP?” he asked.

But Masli Quilaman, the NCIP director who validated the JMA for the Pastolan community, said: “It’s the community, through the SBMA security force, who did not allow the Wamsip officials to enter to avoid any trouble.”

“The validation went well; generally it was a success. All parties involved were pacified to talk and agree to common points,” he said.

Quilaman, however, said the amendments have yet to be included in the JMA. “The document will still be [reviewed by] the SBMA. Then, it will be [signed] by both parties and referred to the NCIP for deliberation,” he said.

Garcia said Wamsip’s assertion was “not true.”