A TOP leader of the Aeta community has urged President Duterte to effect a revamp among the officials of the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP).
Chito Balintay, president of the Alyansa ng Katutubong Ayta ng Pilipinas (AKAP), issued the statement during a recent gathering of Aeta communities at the Clark subzone.
The meeting was called by Oscar Rivera, leader of the Bamban Aeta Tribal Association (BATA) and other tribal leaders in Mabalacat City and Bamban town.
Rivera, who is also the vice president of the AKAP, said that more about 300 tribesmen from several villages at the Clark subzone attended the gathering.
Balintay, who is also an ex officio member of the Zambales provincial board representing the Aeta community, said that the NCIP failed to implement Republic Act Number 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997.
The IPRA law is "an act to recognize, protect and promote the rights of indigenous cultural communities/indigenous peoples, creating a national commission on indigenous peoples, establishing implementing mechanism, appropriating funds therefor, and for other purposes."
"My appeal to our President is for government to review the implementation of the IPRA law. It seems NCIP needs to be revamped because all over, we have the same problem," Balintay said.
"The implementation of the IPRA law is not being felt by the indigenous peoples (IPs) even if the law is clear. I go around the country and IPs are saying the same thing about it," he added.
Balintay at the same time expressed support to Rivera and the latter's group to unite the Aeta people residing at the Clark subzone.
"What we want to do is unite all Aetas ere because there has already been division among us," he said.
Another agenda Balintay cited is the review of the Joint Management Agreement (JMA) forged between the Aeta community and the Clark Development Corporation (CDC).
"Then we have to review the memorandum of agreement entered into with CDC since sometimes it is the cause of misunderstanding," Balintay said.
The Aeta leader also vowed to look into how the Aetas in Clark may benefit from the ancestral lands including their shares from the CDC representing rentals of properties inside the ancestral domain.
"Then we will look into how IPs could benefit from their ancestral lands including their revenue share from CDC," Balintay said.
