Volume I Version I   ☼   Today is 

AETAS' HOPE ON MOTHERS' DAY: EDUCATION AND LAND
By Peachy E. Yamsuan

A special Mothers' Day celebration for Aeta mothers brought fun but also awareness of the plight of indigeneous peoples in Central Luzon.

The Diocese of Balanga through its bishop, Socrates Villegas, and the Teodora group of the Couples for Christ, organized a Mothers' Festival at a forest park in Balanga, Bataan on May 7, the eve of Mother's Day. The theme of the festival was "Ina ng Kalikasan, Ina ng Tahanan, Ina ng Simbahan, Purihin at Pasalamatan."  To the Aeta women-and men-Mother's Day was a new concept, thus the event drew not just the mothers, but also the fathers and the children as well. The day-long festival featured activities intended to "build relationships" and greater awareness of this class of Indigeneous People who constantly struggle people and structures that seek to push them farther into the fringes of society.

For the more than 1,000 Aeta families who came from Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales and the Dumagats of Bulacan, the festival was an occasion for other people, such as the several hundred members of the Couples for Christ led by Frank Padilla and Congressperson Cynthia Villar, to better understand them. The Teodora has been regularly holding the Mothers' Festival on Mother's Day for the past five years. It was the first time that it was held outside Metro Manila.

 In his welcome remarks Bishop Socrates Villegas emphasized the need to banish differences and for people to see beyond "kulot" or "unat" and the color of skin and instead celebrate the whole of humanity.

The festival began with a three-kilometer parade from the St. Joseph Cathedral in the center of town, to the forest park, just off Roman highway in Balanga. A program featured dances by Aeta groups from the different provinces and a demonstration by some Aeta men of their skills in the use of bamboo for cooking and crafting utensils and other gadgets.

The festival began with a three-kilometer parade from the St. Joseph Cathedral in the center of town, to the forest park, just off Roman highway in Balanga. A program featured dances by Aeta groups from the different provinces and a demonstration by some Aeta men of their skills in the use of bamboo for cooking and crafting utensils and other gadgets. There were also booths all around the 10-hectare park where their produce were sold.

Bishop Villegas, together with several priests, celebrated a Mass with a Marian theme, at 2 p.m. In his homily he gave thanks for the three mothers that God has given mankind: Mother Nature, their natural Mothers, and Mother Mary. He said all three have given us life, nurturing and protection. At the same time, he asked forgiveness to these three mothers, for people's sins against them. To mother nature for the devastation of the environment in the form of irresponsible cutting of trees, mining and leveling of mountains. To natural mothers who have been abandoned and neglected. To Mother Mary for not accepting her totally in the same way that Jesus totally gave his mother.
 

In a separate area in the forest park, Aeta youth interacted with youth from Bataan and Cubao, Quezon City, and the Youths for Christ. The mixed group had play-acting and games to get to know one another. According to Marivic Roldan who headed the team of facilitators for the youth interaction, the objective of the activities was to foster trust among the indigenous youth for the lowlanders and for the latter to gain more knowledge, understanding and empathy for the indigenous young people. She said that the indigenous youth were friendly and willingly participated in all the activities.

But what overshadowed the festivities are the festering problems confronting the indigenous people of Central Luzon. Among these is their unmet need for security in their land, education for the children, and a healthy environment where they can grow.

Tess Sulit, who does not know her age but must be between 45 to 60 years old, has five children and stays in the Kanaynayan settlement in Castillejos, Zambales. She went to the festival together with her sister-in-law and some of their grandchildren to sell their bananas. Life is hard, she says, because they have to depend on the meager produce of fruits such as bananas, and root crops such as kamote for their livelihood. Her deepest pain, she says striking her chest, comes from the fear that her children-and grandchildren-will not be able to finish school. Groping for the words all she could say was "wala na" (nothing) when asked why they could not complete their studies. "Wala na" refers to money which no longer is available for Aeta children's education. The Aeta children, Tess said, are not able to finish school because "wala ng panggastos" meaning there are no more funds to support them.  Her daughter, now 20 and a mother of two, was forced to marry at early age, but Tess insists that what her daughter really wanted was to finish school and get a regular job.
 

Tess believes that education can change their situation and allow them greater opportunities. The thought of her other children, and her grandchildren, not being able to go to school, always makes her cry, Tess says.

For some Aeta families the problem remains land. Rosing Balenton, a charming mother of seven and grandmother to a brood, is content with her life in their settlement in Orion town in Bataan, raising her kids and her grandchildren. Her husband Benjamin Balenton finds occasional work in the Civilian Defense unit of the province. For her the rhythm of their life would move on, unhampered, if they are not deprived of a land to work and live on. All the problems of the community, she said, can be talked about and resolved among themselves. For Rosing and her family, events such as the Mother's festival are important because they are fun and bring people together.
 

Sr. Mary Jane Balasi, SP (Sisters of Providence) works with the Caritas office for Indigenous People of the Diocese of Balanga. The main concern of the indigenous people, she said, continues to be their claim to their ancestral land. However, their social action work among the indigenous people also include teaching them more effective methods of agriculture. Many of the young people, she says, are very open to education. But it is also the young people who are easily discouraged and suffer the ambivalence of living in two cultures. Sister Mary Jane says that most of them marry very young. Indeed, Rosing says matter-of-factly that kids as young as 13 or 14 years old can already marry.

To Bishop Villegas, the Indigenous People are part of his flock, and thus he ministers to them as vigorously as he would to the rest. An old Aeta man when asked how he viewed the Mother's Day event, replied in Tagalog that it was the first time that they were being given importance.
To many of the Aetas in his diocese the bishop is already a familiar figure, most of them call him "ang pari" or Bishop Soc. A week before the mothers' festival a mass baptism, confirmation and wedding were held for the Aetas of the province.

On May 8, he formally established the Parish of St. Thomas Aquinas in Bangkal, Abucay town, which has a special ministry to the 200 Aeta families living there.  He also installed the parish's first parish priest, Father Lauro Mozo, MSC. He said that it was a heartwarming experience to establish the parish for the poor indigenous people in his province, who make the Church alive! "The poor know they are loved," he said. His dream is for Bataan to have an Aeta priest.

Maribel Descaller of Teodora says that putting together the Mothers' Festival for the Aetas involved a lot of work among the CFC's various chapters in Central Luzon. Two interactions on the provincial level were held. Families who would be the counterpart families of the indigenous people were identified and put to work. She says that the main goal is to build relationships, to foster trust, to share values on family life, and to promote awareness and appreciation for culture and traditions.
For the Aeta and Dumagat families, the hope is that the mothers' festivals and other festivals, just like having an education and a land they can securely till, will be a regular part of their lives.
 

Galleriies of Aeta's Mothers Day