Aeta rights fighter dies

HERMOSA, Bataan—An Aeta leader who had been working to protect the rights of indigenous communities here died in his sleep on Sunday.

Leonardo Abraham, 70, head of the council of elders of Pastolan, died “without having seen his long struggle for justice and our rights to [bear fruit],” said his wife, Norma.

She said Abraham would always tell her that Aetas should help one another, especially in asserting their rights to their ancestral domain. “He never tired of telling us that we should just go on and continue our fight,” she said.

In an earlier interview, Abraham said he was saddened that Aetas had been divided in the fight for their ancestral domain. Robert Gonzaga, Inquirer Central Luzon