THE Aeta tribe is dismayed with President Bongbong Marcos Jr.
At the Hakbang ng Maisug Freedom Concert and Peace Rally in Angeles City, Pampanga this Monday, their leader expressed the tribe’s grievances against Marcos Jr., especially regarding how the current administration has neglected them.
They wonder why this is happening despite their full support for Marcos Jr. during the election.
“I haven’t seen any progress. I haven’t heard, “How are the Aetas?” Because we are also part of society. We are human beings too. We have rights, feelings, and hearts. But under his leadership, I don’t see any progress coming from him.”
“If you really think about it, they say we are the true Filipinos. We shouldn’t be left behind. But now, it feels like we’re just scattered everywhere. There are no good projects coming our way,” according to Oscar Rivera, Leader, Aeta Tribe.
Oscar Rivera also said that Marcos Jr. is very different from his father.
During Marcos Sr.’s time, they felt the government’s care for their tribe—something they do not feel with Bongbong Marcos.
“So, during the election, I thought he would be like his father. I saw that maybe he would follow in his father’s footsteps,” Rivera added.
He insisted that the president does not treat them as human beings, which is why the administration is treating them this way.
“We are really being left behind. This is what I am saying, my appeal, it’s as if we are not human,” he said.
“President BBM should be thinking, ‘How are the Aetas? I should visit the Aetas.’ But nothing. It’s as if we are not human. They see us as monkeys,” he expressed.
Because of what is happening now, the Aeta tribe deeply regrets voting for Marcos Jr.
“We have great regrets. I said it from the start, we really regret it. We regret what happened,” he ended.
