CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Governor Dennis Pineda had ordered that indigenous peoples (IPs) in Pampanga be given a thorough orientation on the limits of their customary laws with regards to national laws.
This is to prevent further possible incident of revenge killing in Pampanga, after the governor managed to save the life of an Aeta youth who was supposed to be a victim of rido (clan violence).
After the incident was resolved, Pineda said the Aetas should be oriented about the existing laws of the government.
The Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) was tasked to conduct a review of the pre-existing customary and other related laws relating to IPs.
As of January 2019, census from the National Commission on the Indigenous People (NCIP) shows that at least 5,855 families or 21, 684 Aeta individuals reside in the province.
It could be remembered that 19-year-old Anton Santos could have met a gruesome fate if not for the timely intervention of Pineda, who ordered the rescue of the young Aeta who was set to become a victim of revenge killing.
Santos was in fact minutes away from being executed, as payment for his father's killing of a fellow Aeta in 2013, if not for the timely intervention, which involved three days of suspenseful negotiations that ended on Saturday, August 24.
Anton's father Tony was blamed for the death of Siete Serrano on February 26, 2013.