In a text message on Tuesday, the representative of the indigenous people (IP) in the Mabalacat City council said they are open to an amendment of the JMA.
“Pwedi ya rin pu ing amendment namu. Lawen mi pu keng tutuking miting mi keng CDC (We are also open to an amendment. We will look into it in our next meeting with CDC),” Mabalacat City councilor Ruvielane S. Margarito said.
CDC communications manager Noel G. Tulabut said: “As agreed upon in a meeting called by CDC, the JMA will be amended.”
Tulabut also said they are now awaiting the feedback of Aeta leaders as to who will be their legitimate representative.
Initially, Margarito said the Aeta tribe wants the JMA cancelled because it was never valid right from the beginning.
A position paper signed recently by Margarito also called for the cancellation of the JMA.
“Palako dane pu reng elders and chieftains mi pero mag miting kami pa pu pasibayu para king final decision (Our elders and chieftains want it cancelled already but we will still have another meeting for the final decision),” Margarito said.
It can be recalled that then-CDC president- CEO Liberato “Levy” P. Laus initiated the signing of the JMA which called for a profit-sharing scheme whereby the Aetas get 20 percent while the CDC gets 80 of the profit.
The CDC will manage the development of about 10,684 hectares of Aeta ancestral lands for a period of 50 years under the JMA.
However, then-1st District Rep. Carmelo “Tarzan” F. Lazatin branded the JMA as “onerous” considering its lopsided sharing scheme and called for a congressional investigation.
Laus said he welcomed the investigation “because this will give us the timely opportunity to clear the air of any reservation or misinformation about the agreement and provide valuable inputs as well to our legislators that could be useful in their legislative agenda for the country’s indigenous people.”
News reports indicate that in House Resolution (HR) 545, Lazatin claimed that the guaranteed income stipulated in the agreement, which was computed at P1 million per year for the whole area, was unfair to the Tribung Ayta composed of 13 tribes or about 3,000 families from the towns of Bamban, Tarlac and Mabalacat City, Pampanga.
However, as part of the JMA, the CDC turned over 13 Mitsubishi L-300 FB utility vehicles to each of the tribes for their various transport requirements, particularly in moving products and peoples from the uplands to the lowlands.
Laus said the turnover was consistent with the spirit of the agreement that seeks essentially to improve the lives of the Aetas in the Clark hinterlands.
