2 Aeta leaders contest board seat

IBA, Zambales—When the provincial board met last week to discuss budget matters, two Aeta leaders showed up, each claiming the seat of the indigenous peoples’ mandatory representative (IPMR) to the executive body.

Chito Balintay, a resident of Botolan town, presented his credentials as the IPMR during the board’s Nov. 9 session, but his nephew, Juanillo Bulatao, also appeared to register his objections. Bulatao claimed that he was elected to the post in a new selection supposedly conducted by representatives of IP communities.

Balintay was accompanied by lawyer Roman Antonio, legal officer of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in Zambales province, who informed the assembly that Balintay was officially recognized and affirmed as the IPMR by the Central Luzon offices of the NCIP and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“As an IPMR, he (Balintay) has complied with all the requirements mandated by law and is qualified to assume office as a provincial board member,” Antonio said.

Bulatao handed over to the board a letter detailing his objections to his uncle’s appointment. “His term has ended. He was only to serve as an interim [IPMR] for three months,” he said in Filipino.

Balintay said he was elected by members of the seat of elders, which represents all of the IP communities in the province during a gathering two years ago. He was sworn into office in 2013 by Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr.

Vice Gov. Ramon Lacbain II said Balintay was not able to serve in the council because the issues raised concerned the budget allocation for the salary of the IPMR and the unclear guidelines on the selection of the IPMR. These issues were again tackled during Monday’s session.

Board Member Renato Collado, chair of the committee on legal matters, said allocating the IPMR salary must be resolved first, though an IP representation would be “a helpful addition to the provincial board.”

Board Member Sancho Abasta urged the NCIP to resolve the dispute between Balintay and Bulatao. “It casts doubts on the integrity of the process in selecting the IPMR,” he said.

“The board is not objecting to Balintay’s nomination to sit as a board member, but the opposition [expressed by Bulatao] must be resolved first,” Abasta told Antonio. Allan Macatuno, Inquirer Central Luzon