CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Vice Governor Lilia Pineda has expressed disappointment to the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples' (NCIP) Office in Central Luzon over the alleged "snail-paced" registration of the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) of Aetas in Porac town.
The vice-governor said that up to this time, the "snail-paced" approach of the NCIP has resulted in non-registration of titles of thousands of hectares of ancestral domain intended for the benefit of indigenous peoples of Porac.
"The NCIP could not even identify a piece of flat land in the ancestral domain owned and registered in the names of the Aetas that could be used as a resettlement site for the victims of a 6.1-magnitude quake in Camias, Porac," said Pineda.
"Bakit alang mitatagan a gabun para karing Aeta? Bakit aku pang sinaling gabun para king housing da? Samantalang sasabian da ring NCIP marakal la ancestral land ding Aetas (Why there is no land left for the housing of the Aetas? Why I was the one who bought land for their resettlement site. The NCIP is saying that Aetas have abundant ancestral lands)," she asked.
The vice-governor suggested that the NCIP should work hard now to find a flat land intended for the housing of the Aetas in Barangay Camias or she would question them.
She said the Provincial Government has already purchased a three-hectare lot in Barangay Babo Panghulo, Porac for the relocation of the affected Aetas in Barangays Diaz, Inararo and Villa Maria in the same town due to the recent 6.1-magnitude earthquake that struck the province.
NCIP response
Chester Cayabas Diwas, NCIP regional legal officer, said the commission up to now failed to register the CADT of the Aetas in Porac due to several legal and policy issues that need to be resolved first.
For instance, Diwas said, out of 18,000 hectares ancestral domain of the Aetas in Porac, 2,000 hectares were already titled and registered, while the other 16,000 hectares are not yet CADT registered because 5,000 hectares are being claimed by the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA).
"And that needs to be resolved first before the NCIP could work for the registration of the CADT of the Aetas in Porac," she said.
Asked if the NCIP could identify or provide a registered ancestral land as a relocation site for the Aetas of Camias, Porac, the NCIP legal officer said they have very limited budget and the commission has no funds for that purpose.
"All we can do is to assist the Aetas in land titling, provide educational assistance for our scholars, financial assistance and technical assistance to Aetas in times of need and even in giving relief assistance," she said.
Nonetheless, she added, the NCIP has already registered the CADTs of the Aetas in the upland areas of Mabalacat City and Floridablanca.
Aeta leader's appeal
Regie Abuque, barangay captain of Camias, appealed to the NCIP to immediately work hard for the registration of their CADT because they have been waiting for it since 2010 but nothing happened.
"Ing pakisabi ming mayap, sana ing NCIP magi yang tune kakampi ding Aeta (What we are really asking for is that the NCIP be a true partner of the Aetas)," the village chief said.
Even so, Abuque said the NCIP is providing the Aetas with relief, financial assistance, among others, when needed.
For that, he said he could give them five on a scale of 10 when it comes to providing the needed services.
Asked about the Provincial Government, the village chief said the vice-governor and Governor Dennis Pineda are in full support when it comes to providing their needs, be it educational, health, livelihood and environment protection, among other things.
"Kang Nanay ampo kang Governor Delta, ala kaming asabi, babie da ing egana-gana para karing Aeta (We have nothing to say about Nanay and Governor Delta because they give everything for the benefit of the Aetas)," he said.
He added that when it comes to housing, the Provincial Government is supporting them but it should be constructed in a titled and registered ancestral domain, hence they are appealing to NCIP to work for the registration of CADT in Porac. (Joel P. Mapiles/Pampanga PIO)