Murder of pregnant Aeta triggers outrage

HERMOSA, BATAAN—The Aeta community here is outraged by the murder of a pregnant Aeta girl, who was found hanging from a tree in the Pastolan Aeta Village on Jan. 30.

The decomposing body of Angelique Charlotte Bulatao, 20, was wrapped in a blanket and her relatives said there were signs she was raped. She was four months pregnant.

“I could not believe this happened to her. She was young and she didn’t have enemies,” said Bulatao’s grandmother, Elena, 61.

Elena described Bulatao’s killers as “merciless” and “inhuman.”

Bulatao had been reported missing for four days and was last seen buying barbecue in the village plaza on Jan. 27 by her neighbors.

They said Bulatao was also seen in the company of four laborers hired for a solar power plant project being built on an 800-hectare area of the Aeta ancestral domain here.

The Bulataos have lived in Pastolan since the early 1980s. Elena said no heinous crime had been recorded there in the past.

“This is a peaceful and quiet village,” Elena said.

The Pastolan neighborhood has become fearful following Bulatao’s murder, said her aunt, Aida Sambili, 50.

“Knowing that the killers are still out there, we have every reason to worry about our safety,” she said.

Police on Wednesday held three people for questioning  but they were later released. —ALLAN MACATUNO