Aeta join OFW exodus
By Tonette Orejas
Central Luzon Desk

First Posted 16:47:00 04/07/2007

Filed Under: Migration, indigenous people



Advertisement CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Three Aeta men have left for Saudi Arabia as welders -- the first overseas workers in their tribe to be trained and sent abroad by the state-owned Clark Development Corp.

"We're nervous but also excited," Joseph King said in a phone interview held a few hours before he, his uncle, Roland, and friend, Roger David, departed for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport for their 1 p.m. flight on April 5.

They hail from Villa Maria, a village in the uplands of Porac, Pampanga, south of Mt. Pinatubo. The Kings are relatives of Miranda King, the town's tribal chieftain.

A suitcase full of clothes and a mobile phone were what they brought with them for their three-year employment contract.

"Abe na ing abalu mi (We're also taking the skills we learned)," Joseph King said.

Each one is going to receive a $500 (P24,130) monthly salary and free lodging.

The Filipino-owned Engineering Equipment Inc. (EEI), which paid for their training and hired them, is shouldering the travel expenses when they come home to the Philippines every 18 months, according to Jose Vladimir Sampang, director of the Clark Polytechnic School.

Warlito Romualdo, the first in the batch of Aeta to leave for the same job, also gets the same salary and benefits, Sampang said.

He said the four men belonged to the 10 Aeta and 16 unat (straight-haired or lowlanders) who underwent the 40-day training course at the school. EEI spent P75,000 for every trainee.

The CDC, then under the leadership of Emmanuel Angeles as president, and the Bases Conversion Development Authority established the school in 2001 to provide training for available jobs in or outside the Clark Special Economic Zone. It also gives capability-building courses for employees.

Of King's group, Sampang said: "We were worried at first about their capacity to learn. But they excelled. In fact, they did better than their unat counterparts."

"They have shown they have the aptitude to learn a new skill," he said.

Sampang said the breakthrough made by these men provide a window of opportunity for their fellow Aeta.

"They could show that they're capable for technical work," he said.

The Kings and David were forestry undergraduates while Romualdo finished secondary education.

It could not be ascertained if they were the first overseas Filipino workers among the Mt. Pinatubo Aeta.

Records of that trend are not available at the Central Luzon office of the National Commission on Indigenous People, but the Aeta are known to have greater access to education after the 1991 Mt Pinatubo eruptions as government and private agencies made that available in upland and lowland resettlements.

What was sure, said Sampang, was that they were the first Clark-trained OFWs.

All three men told the Inquirer they took the job to be able to help their families. Most Aeta rely on farming mountain plots.

"Ing bie ming Aeta katmung kasakitan (The lives of Aeta are full of hardships)," Joseph King said.

He said they prayed to Apo Namalyari, their deity, to guide them and make them give their best for the challenge ahead of them.

"Do well" was Miranda King's parting advice. That came with a reminder to send some money for tobacco to be used as offering to the deity.

Joseph King said they know they would surely feel homesick but Sampang taught them ways to cope.

Sampang said the four underwent orientation on culture in Saudi Arabia and how to save money and invest on small businesses.

He said the school will keep in touch with the four Aetas and their families to help them cope with the separation and to help them manage their finances.

Other trainees are leaving in the coming weeks, said Sampang.

$500 isn't that much.

^it's the philippines we're talking about. good for them i ope them well. i hope their experience overseas broaden the horizons of their tribe.