As Aeta kids learn, elders fight for land in Pampanga

CLARK FREEPORT—Back when the United States Air Force (Usaf) operated Clark Air Base and its extensions in Pampanga and Tarlac, American officials granted members of the indigenous Aeta communities the exclusive privilege of scavenging Clark’s landfill for recyclable materials they could sell.

The Aetas also received free medical checkups, medicines and hospitalization at the former Usaf Hospital Clark. The arrangement began under Kudiaro Laxamana, leader of the Negrito Scouts during World War II, and continued through succeeding generations of Aeta leaders.

Thirty-five years after Mt. Pinatubo’s largest eruption hastened the withdrawal of American forces and the closure of US military facilities, the Aetas around Clark now receive a different kind of support.

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The state-run Clark Development Corp. (CDC), which oversees the freeport, has expanded its corporate social responsibility program in Aeta communities. But officials acknowledge that the villages remain unable to develop on their own, largely because of unresolved issues involving their 10,323-hectare Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) No. 025-A.

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With its partners, CDC operates five daycare centers in Mabalacat City, Pampanga and Bamban, Tarlac.

‘Pagsasarili’

The program began as “Pagsasarili” (self-reliance), launched by then CDC chair Jose “Ping” de Jesus. Since 2019, the centers have graduated 419 children from Aeta and mixed Aeta families. About 25 percent dropped out, mostly because their families relocated, according to CDC capacity-building officer Armin Rivera.

“I had hoped that the daycare centers would prepare Aeta children for formal schooling,” De Jesus, who visited the centers on June 23, told the Inquirer.

“From their ranks, we would probably have leaders who are independent and concerned for their communities.”

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For the school year 2026-2027, 123 children have enrolled.

The Operation Brotherhood Community Foundation of O.B. Montessori Center trained seven Aeta child development workers and developed the learning modules. The centers have also earned a five-year accreditation from the Early Childhood Care and Development Council, the highest rating so far.

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Partners

Rivera said Pagsasarili has since evolved into the Family Care Center (FCC), providing education, health, nutrition, livelihood and water services while helping organize seven farmers’ cooperatives.

“FCC is now a comprehensive community development platform,” he said.

CDC spends P1.3 million annually to augment the allowances of seven teachers. Its partners—including Bloomberry Cultural Foundation, Royce Foundation, Converge ICT Solutions, Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Manila Water Foundation, World Vision, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the local governments of Mabalacat and Bamban—support buildings, livelihood, solar power, water systems and internet connectivity.

Separate projects of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority also provide agriculture, education and water services in nearby New Clark City.

While tribal leaders Robert Serrano and Oscar Rivera disagree on many issues, both said the Aetas deserve a bigger share of the benefits from their ancestral domain.

The NCIP awarded CADT-025 in 2004 and revised it in 2009 as CADT 025-A.

In March 2024, CDC and Tribong Ayta signed a Joint Management Agreement retaining a provision granting the Aetas a 20-percent share of revenues generated from the land.

But CDC president Agnes Devanadera confirmed that the agency has yet to remit the funds because the Tribong Ayta has not completed Commission on Audit requirements, including rules governing the Aeta Development Fund, creation of an Aeta Development Committee and opening an official bank account.

As of June 2026, CDC also said the NCIP had yet to designate a single Indigenous Peoples Organization authorized to receive the funds.

Two groups continue to claim that role. The Ayta Mag-Antsi ng CADT 025-A has NCIP recognition but lacks Commission on Audit (COA) compliance, while the CADT 025-A Ayta Mag-Antsi Pinalupuyan Sub-Council Aeta Development Committee has complied with COA rules but has no NCIP recognition.

Outgoing NCIP Central Luzon Director Roman Antonio said the agency recognized 220 elders representing 44 clans as the governing body for CADT 025-A, although the decision has been challenged in court.

Antonio also said the NCIP has no jurisdiction over nonindigenous encroachers on ancestral land.

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Three decades after Pinatubo, factionalism among Aeta communities, migration into their ancestral domain and land speculation fueled by the rapid development of nearby New Clark City continue to complicate the indigenous peoples’ claim to the benefits of their own land. INQ