ABUCAY, Bataan — Aeta women in a mountain village here on Tuesday expressed preference to buying rice supplied by the National Food Authority (NFA) even if they have to wait under the rain.
The Aetas were joined by lowlanders waiting for their turn to be sold rice by the only accredited NFA rice retailer in Barangay Bangkal.
The NFA store is run by Aeta natives from the Magbikin Tribe.
Lowlanders Val and Luisa Medina of the Bangkal United Methodist Church assist the natives in supervising the store.
Zenaida Aquile, 57-year-old Aeta manager of the store, said commercial rice in the village costs P50 – P55 a kilo.
“Sa amin P27 lang,” she said.
She said that they get their allocation of 10 bags of rice twice a week from the NFA warehouse in Balanga City.
“Ang commercial rice P50 – P56 kaya dito kami bumibili dahil P27 lang ang isang kilo,” young Aeta woman Mia Gulisan said.
“Mura NFA rice, masarap parang commercial rice. Walang bukbok.”
Both the tribesmen and the lowlanders live in harmony in the mountain village, some 23 kilometers from the town proper of Abucay.
