when we arrived at the Planas drop point, i approached the aeta that went with us in the jeepney. i asked if it's possible for me to reach Pasbul village by walking, he said that it's far and that if i take a tricycle, it'll cost P200. i didn't enough time to travel that long because i was scheduled to be in Angeles Pampanga by 5:30pm.
i mentioned to him that i need to visit an aeta village, then he suggested that i should instead visit their village, which was closer than Pasbul village which the town people recommended. so i agreed and joined him walking. he speaks Tagalog because of the frequent visit of people from the city. his name is Dencio. blessed enough to have met mang Dencio.
after 15minutes we were now entering their village. he went to the school where he was helping the school's new cooking area. i thanked him as i decided to walk around the village and see the cottages around the clear grassy ground.
houses were made up of nipa or what we call nipa huts. a basketball court was on one side of the ground and a small chapel on the opposite side. i saw some of them walking around and even asked this lady to smile as i take a shot of her.
i continued walking and saw an abandoned cottage where a lady, a girl and a little kid were sitting. i approached them and asked if i can take a seat in the bench opposite to where they are sitting. started to interact with them. the lady's name is Del while the girl's name is Jessica.
i asked where they were when Mt. Pinatubo erupted and manang Del shared her story of actually running away from their homes carrying her child after huge smoke came out of Mt. Pinatubo's peak. although there were already signs that the mountain was about to erupt, they didn't evacuate thinking of their crops and their house. but not when the mountain started to emit pyroclastic materials. 
they run as far as they can along with other aetas in their village. after hours of walking and running, they reached the plain area where other evacuees were already being treated by some volunteers. they were already near Bataan. they were able to escape Mt. Pinatubo's fiery destruction. now she has four children and has been in the village for years now after the eruption. the child below is manang Del's youngest son. 
the little kid sitting on the ground is Jessica's little brother,his name is James. Jessica's little brother. she was about to treat James' feet with a medicine because of the wounds on his feet. as his feet was dipped in a basin of medicine, he started crying.
after sometime, talking to them. i asked where are the other people in their village. she said that the children are in school while the men are working. they were friendly. even had some time joking with them. bid goodbye as i started walking back to check out the school within the village. 
saw some kids along the road playing while others were carrying water to their houses. they walk around freely here. 
another woman passed and i asked her to smile for a shoot and gave me this pose and her best smile.
i can see that they are happy here. they say that this place is very safe but it is still being discussed as to who really owns this land. i hope that this land will be given to them as they continue to recover from the effect of the eruption.
i mentioned to him that i need to visit an aeta village, then he suggested that i should instead visit their village, which was closer than Pasbul village which the town people recommended. so i agreed and joined him walking. he speaks Tagalog because of the frequent visit of people from the city. his name is Dencio. blessed enough to have met mang Dencio.
after 15minutes we were now entering their village. he went to the school where he was helping the school's new cooking area. i thanked him as i decided to walk around the village and see the cottages around the clear grassy ground.
houses were made up of nipa or what we call nipa huts. a basketball court was on one side of the ground and a small chapel on the opposite side. i saw some of them walking around and even asked this lady to smile as i take a shot of her.
i continued walking and saw an abandoned cottage where a lady, a girl and a little kid were sitting. i approached them and asked if i can take a seat in the bench opposite to where they are sitting. started to interact with them. the lady's name is Del while the girl's name is Jessica.
i asked where they were when Mt. Pinatubo erupted and manang Del shared her story of actually running away from their homes carrying her child after huge smoke came out of Mt. Pinatubo's peak. although there were already signs that the mountain was about to erupt, they didn't evacuate thinking of their crops and their house. but not when the mountain started to emit pyroclastic materials. 
they run as far as they can along with other aetas in their village. after hours of walking and running, they reached the plain area where other evacuees were already being treated by some volunteers. they were already near Bataan. they were able to escape Mt. Pinatubo's fiery destruction. now she has four children and has been in the village for years now after the eruption. the child below is manang Del's youngest son. 
the little kid sitting on the ground is Jessica's little brother,his name is James. Jessica's little brother. she was about to treat James' feet with a medicine because of the wounds on his feet. as his feet was dipped in a basin of medicine, he started crying.
after sometime, talking to them. i asked where are the other people in their village. she said that the children are in school while the men are working. they were friendly. even had some time joking with them. bid goodbye as i started walking back to check out the school within the village. 
saw some kids along the road playing while others were carrying water to their houses. they walk around freely here. 
another woman passed and i asked her to smile for a shoot and gave me this pose and her best smile.
i can see that they are happy here. they say that this place is very safe but it is still being discussed as to who really owns this land. i hope that this land will be given to them as they continue to recover from the effect of the eruption.
47 comments:
This is very informative bro. I never realized that the aetas still live in their own villages !
angaling! nice entry!
>bw, yes. they still live there as they are sometimes rejected when they stay with the town people.
>pensucks, salamat!
Lovely post and information. The volcano eruption was really scary and rid many of their homes. Hope all well with them.
Nice locations... Different post.. I pray to God to change their life some what into a better position... Hats off to you Dong...
sana nga ay ibigay na sa kanila ang lupang kanilang tinitirhan..=)
mukhang nakarecover na din sila after Mt. Pinatubi eruption..
ang cute tignan ng mga batang aeta=)
mukhang nag enjoy ka sa pakikipag kwentuhan sa kanila ah at mukhang nag enjoy namana sila sa pagkuha mo ng pictures sa kanila=)
they are adorable people. living a simple life in a basic world, yet they are happy.
growing up in zambales, i saw how hardy the aetas are. masisipag. but sometimes i sensed their feeling of inferiority, mingling with us who live in the poblacion.
but they are kind. the kindness and trust is overwhelming.
Very nice and informative.
Thanks sa pasalubong DonG! Nice to see our kababayan na Aetas. Kalahi at kadugo...kaya dapat lang na ituring na kapatid. Ako din...dumarasal na magkaroon sila ng sarili nilang lupa.
Many thanks and more power to you who brings us to places where we have never been and to people we have never had the pleasure to meet.
Interesting photo series!
good one. so they won't be forgotten ... which they usually are..:(
It's always sad to see people being displaced from their homes. I hope they find the semblance of permanency that they need. Thanks for sharing, great post.
There's a lot of Aetas in Zambales too.....some of them were relocated in Olongapo somewhere in Cabalan.
I can still freshly remember how the Americans treated them special,whenever they will go inside the Subic Naval Base before freely.
you have to visit bacolod too. masskara festival will be on october na.
siguro namangha sila parang nakakita ng artista...hehehh may electricity ba din sa village nila?
those sweet smiles! and it seems like modernity has caught up with them. looks like a regular Pinoy village to me.
I've been to Porac countless times but I didn't know there are aeta villages there. Sabagay, sa factory lang naman kasi pumupunta. I know large portions of Porac was buried in lahar kaya nga rich na sila ngayon. Sana maambunan din ang mga aeta ng kita sa lahar.
Very informative post, Pards and very nice shots too of both the village and the people.
Are a number of them employed in the nearest towns and cities? Or do they still rely on farming for their survival. I just hope that our people are not discriminating against the Aetas in terms of job opportunities.
Som, I'm back! hehehe. inabangan ko tong post na to. Makikita mo sa mga mata nila ay tinatawag na real hapiniess. Simple living pero masaya sila. walang problema dahil hindi nila pinuproblema ang mundo.
Ano ba ang dialect nila? Dito sa amin nakita ko kanina sa local channel, nagdiwang sila ng fiesta. isang village rin yun. at nakita ko na ang binili ko na native coin purse ay gawa nila.
Hindi ka lang naglalakbay, u able to meet simple but great people. yung mga taong walang halong kaplastikan.
Dom* suliranin ko talaga ang magtype ng mabilis tapos hindi niri-review pago i-send. sorry.
All I can say is...they worth the space here. :)
may na-encounter na din akong aeta sa isang resettlement project namin noong nag-work pa ko sa government.
i like this entry. its been my long goal to visit the aetas' village and maybe i can render service like free informal education... to at least let the little ones learn the basics.
how i wish one day i can see opportunity in it.
congrats for the kindness you showed them!:)
kawawa naman sila... yung place nila nde pa pala sa kanila... sana nga mapunta na sa kanila...
hay... kung saan saan ka talaga napupunta... thanks sa infos mo ;)
the dong is at it again!
nice that you featured these village. after the great cataclysm, we don't always know what happened to those who were affected, especially these aeta minorities. good work bai.
>hi alicesg, yes it did. but their situation is at least improving.
>selerines, thanks! your prayer will definitely count.
>hi doc rio, oo. masaya na rin sila kahit papaano pero mas ok kung mapapasa kanila na ang lupang ito.
yung iba mahiyain yung iba talagang sanay sa camera. enjoy din silang kausap.
>islander, tama ka dyan.
>hi atticus, yes. they still have that inferiority but little by little nag iimprove kasi nakakapag aral na rin sila.
kawawa nga yung iba na nasa city kasi mostly nanlilimos or nagbebenta sila ng mga gawa nilang bagay.
>hi equi, thanks!
>hi em, totoo yan. kasi kapatid talaga natin sila. kayamanan din natin sila dahil pinoy na pinoy talaga sila pag nakausap mo sila. hospitable, friendly and respectable.
it is my pleasure to share every experience. salamat din sa pagtangkilik.
>luke, thanks!
>jericho, tama! kaya itong series ay dedicated talaga para sa kanila.
>isabetlog, we hope for the same thing.
>eric, i would be glad if you share those stories. wala din kasi ako masyadong background sa kanila.
>hi ifoundme, hopefully. lapit na nga.
>dakilang islander, hahaha... patawa ka naman. oo merong kuryente at tv. kaya updated sila sa mga balita.
>r-yo, tama ka dyan. typical pinoy houses in the province. pag naka usap mo sila malalaman mo talaga na pinoy talaga sila.
>hi luna, oo nga. sana nga may napunta din sa kanila kasi sila din yung pinaka apektado. daming aeta village sa porac pero malapit na ito usually sa mga mountainous area.
>panaderos, they still rely on farming. hindi ko rin naitanong kung may mga discriminations pag nag aapply sila sa labas. pero alam kong nawawala na ang discrimintaion kasi mga bata ay nag-aaral na rin talaga.
>redlan, welcome back! oo ang sarap kausap nila kasi masayahin, friendly at kung minsan mahiyain. meron silang dialect na depende rin sa lugar. pero malapit ito sa tagalog.
salamat sa pag abang lagi sa mga post.
>leoj, tama talaga. dedicated ito para sa kanila.
>madbong, talaga? ako naman last ko silang nakita nung umakyat kami ng pinatubo before itong pagbisita ko.
>hi nyl, yes they need that. sana nga makabisita ka. mostly ang mga guro doon mga misyonaryo kasi maliit lang ang sweldo pero puso't buhay nila ang binibigay nila.
>hi lalaine, oo nga. ipagdasal natin yan. salamat din sa laging pag abang.
>estan, salamat! sana mabisita mo rin sila.
thanks sa bagbisita sa blog ko.
Thanks for this information and for these provocative images. We live in a complex, complicated world.
A wonderful and interesting post. It must have been scary when it was all unfolding. It's fun to see the village. It's so different from where I live.
Now that is something no hoax! (Remember the ones yahoo had about the indigenous people of Rio de Janeiro? or somewhere near there lol)
I remember the 1990 pinatubo well and I live in Southern Tagalog! That experience of them running away must be tough....great story and photostory Dong, keep this up---
they live simple lives but ometimes, having less is more...
>pensucks, salamat din sa pagbisita sa blog ko.
>hi sandy, thank you also for always visiting my blog.
>sandpiper, yes. this is in the mountainous area north of manila. it was scary when the eruption happened in 1991 because it really affected almost the whole of luzon.
>hi gizelle, thanks! i remember in 1991 where we can only see ashes dropping everywhere in pampanga on the news during those times. but at least they are now slowly recovering from it.
really nice post...
parang same lang sila ng situation ng mga aetas in boracay...
Very interesting post and great photographs. That must have been very meaningful to visit the people there. I hope that they are able to keep their land. Indigenous populations world wide too often don't get to keep their land which makes me sad. The U.S. where I live certainly has a sad history in terms of the native Americans being forced into small reservations. My daughter has been interested in the land rights issues in New Zealand and has learned some of the Maori language hoping one day to go there. I wasn't familiar with the Aetas until I read this post.
Hey dong, just for FYI, "Pasbul" means "Door" in kapampangan. :)
I miss pampanga, we already sold our house there and we're here in manila for good.
I remember when I was in kindergarten, pumutok ang pinatubo, our school (st scho) became evacuation area...
ang hirap non, alala ko din umulan ng bato, and naka payong kami at un koche puro gasgas. eeeek i was only 5 when that happened.
>hi paui, right. kakalungkot nga ang situation nila although they tend to survive from the situation. it happens around the world as carver (one of the bloggers who commented) shares his experience.
>hi carver, didn't know that it even happens in the US. that's a really sad news as they are actually the country's heritage. i'm glad that your daughter is involve in helping them.
i hope that every country will start making program on how to help them have their own land and gain the same rights.
thanks for sharing. i really appreciate this because it reminds us the need to help them on this.
>hi tentay, oo nga. sabi nga nila sa akin nung papunta ako dun. medyo malayo pa pala ang pasbul sa porac.
salamat sa kwento mo kasi kayo talaga ang mga nandoon nung nangyari yon. bata mo pa nga masyado nun.
may mga kaibigan din ako na taga tarlac naman. grabe din effect sa kanila kahit malayo na sila pero ramdam pa rin ang epekto ng pagsabog.
dahil ba dun kayo lumuwas? buti na lang at walang nangyari sa inyo.
wow! ganda ng post na to kuya dong! bat ko nagustuhan? parang pang-documentary ang pagkakasulat mo. hehe.
buti naman at may bloggers na nagkaka-interes magsulat about cultural minorities. saludo ako sayo kuya dong!
this post is making me miss the aeta friends i made in 1 village... nice 1, kuya d!
>beero, maraming salamat din. kailangan din kasi silang maipakilala sa ating mga kababayan dahil sila ay mga pinoy din. kaya para talaga sa kanila itong post.
>hi acey, maraming salamat! buti naman at may naging kaibigan ka na ring mga aeta. ating mga ninuno.
it's good you wrote about our aeta brothers dom. i'm not surprised that some readers have little awareness as to how they live, what they need most, etc. because they're for the most part, marginalized. it feels reassuring that young people like you still have the inclination to reach out to them. i'm interested in our outreach efforts. i'll check my sked and see if i can join you as it's been 2 years ago since i've been to porac and pinatubo.
>oggie, oo. tumatada na rin ako kaya kailangan ko na ing gawin ito at baka hindi ko na ito magagawa in the future.
i believe it is also our responsibility to help and assist them as our kababayans.
maraming salamat oggie. post ko naman dito kung kelan ang outreach. sana nga makasama ka.
I admire how you spent quality time with the wonderful aeta people. It's nice to know they find happiness in simple living.
wow! you can see happiness and contentment to their faces:)
wow! this is nice!
sincerely,
nobe
http://www.deariago.blogspot.com - my love letters to my son
http://www.nobe112681.blogspot.com - my favorite internet things
i love it when you really take time to do cultural immersion Dong which is the true essence of traveling. Not all traveler and bloggers do that, maybe photographers yes, for the sake of a good subject, but you are one of the few who really cares. I never said this to any travel bloggers yet, but you have the heart of a true traveler, you are exceptional. :) you don't rely on guidebooks that much, instead you opt for the off-beaten tracks, you don't care about long dusty road trips, you don't make a post for the sake of more page views, ads or sponsorships instead,you write passionately and take photos of realities. keep it up! i hope to see more bloggers like you! :)
i love it when you really take time to do cultural immersion Dong which is the true essence of traveling. Not all traveler and bloggers do that, maybe photographers yes, for the sake of a good subject, but you are one of the few who really cares. I never said this to any travel blogger yet, but you have the heart of a true traveler, you are exceptional! you don't rely on guidebooks that much, instead you opt for the off-the-beaten tracks, you don't care about long dusty road trips, you don't make a post for the sake of more page views, ads or sponsorships instead,you write passionately and take photos of realities. keep it up! i hope to see more bloggers like you! :)
Sir i will condct a research in porac. Is it expensive to go there in terms of transpo? How much will it cost if im came from manila? Is there a lodging house there? Thank u mabuhay!
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