CAPAS, Tarlac — Aeta leaders in Capas town said they are not aware of any member of their tribes who were affected by the establishment of the New Clark City here.
In a press conference called by the Bases Conversion Development Authority and the Municipality of Capas, some Aeta chieftains and leaders in the area denied displacement brought about by the NCC project.
Antonio Sumilang, a longtime Indigenous People leader in Capas said that there are no aetas who were displaced in the project.
“Wala po akong alam na na-displace sa aming mga kasamahan na katutubo,” Sumilang said.
“Sa aking pagtatanong din sa kanila, wala naman silang sinasabing mga problema,” he added.
Reynaldo Medrano, chieftain of Sitio Kalangitan, said that plans for NCC are laudable.
“Maganda po ang layunin ng BCDA. Sa tulong po nila at ng LGU, magkakaroon napo kami ng titulo. Gayundin po nagpapasalamat kami dahil wala napong istambay sa Kalangitan dahil lahat po nakakapagtrabaho sa New Clark City. Yun naman pong sa access road, yun lang naman po ang tinamaan sa mga katutubo pero yun po ay nabayaran napo sila,” Mendrano said.
Jaymar Tiglao, an employee at NGAC, said that he and fellow aetas have also been employed at NCC
“Marami pong nabigyan na trabaho ngayon, kagaya ko po pati na ang mga ibang Aeta lahat po ay nagkatrabaho,” Tiglao said
Engr. Joshua Bingcang, BCDA Senior Vice President for Business Development and Operations said that about 300 aetas are now working at NCC where a total of 6,000 are currently employed in its development stage. He said that this represents 10 percent of the total workforce of Capas town.
Bingcang also said that the establishment of NCC went through planning, research and consultation, contraty to claims that BCDA implemented a “development aggression” project.
“Dumaan po ito sa proper process, sa master planning and research at consultation sa mga stakeholders. Lahat din ng inputs at concerns ng mga stakeholders sinasama namin yan sa plano. We properly studied and evaluated this development. Ayon din sa mga eksperto sa partner namin na Surbana Jurong, sinabi rin nila na wala itong (adverse) environmental impact,” Bingcang said.
Capas Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan also repudiated the news about the displacement of any farmers or indigenous people in NCC.
“There is no truth in the news that there are tens of thousands of farmers and tribes people living in the 9,450 hectares’ development area that we know to be BCDA’s New Clark City. I know because I am the local chief executive and I make sure that I know my town’s statistics and I am very much aware of critical issues raised by my people especially those who are marginalized such as the indigenous cultural communities,” Catacutan said.