Soldiers' ‘Tribo’ program benefits Batak IP families in Roxas, Palawan

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 22): Soldiers' ‘Tribo’ program benefits Batak IP families in Roxas, Palawan

A military official said Wednesday the 4th Marine Battalion Landing Team (MBLT 4) had visited the hinterlands of Barangay Caramay, Roxas in northern Palawan to implement the Tribo (Tribal Bayanihan Outreach) program, which seeks to support local government and non-government initiatives for indigenous peoples (IPs).

Capt. Wanel Ansa, the Battalion's environment management (EM) and civil military officer (CMO), told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) in an interview that the TRIBO provided refreshments to over a hundred Batak children and adults; distributed canned goods to around 55 IP families, assorted clothes, shoes, and sandals; and donated soccer balls, toys, and multivitamins at Sitio Nanabu, Caramay in the former silica mining town of Roxas on Tuesday.

Books from the non-profit international development organization Asia Foundation were also donated for the children through the Nanabu Indigenous Peoples Elementary School (NIPES), the Crossworld Tribal School (CTS), and the Nanabu Daycare Center (NDC), whose building was coincidentally inaugurated on the day of the visit.

Sitio Nanabu is a cultural enclave of around 55 Batak families composed of nearly 200 adults and children in the uncharted areas of Roxas municipality.

Surrounded by large natural elevations, Nanabu is an exquisite human settlement in Caramay that is not often visited as it is around 14.9 kilometers from the northern Palawan arterial road, said Ansa.

"The distance is what keeps more visits from happening. When it's raining hard, those who want to help cannot go to Nanabu because the river would be flooded. Crossing the river bends is also another challenge; if you go up, wait to get down the next day," he added.

Lt. Colonel Danilo Facundo, commander of the 4th MBLT, said Wednesday afternoon that TRIBO is their "determined attempt to continuously connect with the introverted Batak indigenous peoples in their area of responsibility (AOR) to sustain IP-themed projects of Roxas municipality and various government and non-government stakeholders."

The visit, he added, is also to ensure that the Batak community in Nanabu will not be exposed to dangers or risks as dwellers are "vulnerable and prone to exploitation."

Like other IPs, the Batak people are constantly defenseless and exposed to recruitment by the leftist movement New People’s Army (NPA).

In fact, only in February, three Batak IPs, who were recruited into the NPA movement in Palawan, surrendered to the Western Command (WESCOM).

This is what TRIBO hopes to end – the recruitment of the IPs into something that they do not understand will only push them more to poverty, and a life of danger and fear.

Marly Carceller, 30, a Batak mother, who was among the first to welcome the 4th MBLT and other stakeholders, could not stop smiling and saying her gratitude to her new friends.

"Kami ay nagpapasalamat nakaabot kayo sa amin na may magandang pangangatawan para magpaabot ng tulong sa amin. Salamat po (We are thankful that you're able to reach us in good health to give us help. Thank you)," said Carceller, who knew it is not easy for her 4th MBLT friends to get to their village in Nanabu.

According to recent provided data, the Batak are one of about 70 indigenous peoples' groups in the Philippines. They are located in the northeastern portions of Palawan, southwest of the archipelago. There are only about 500 Batak remaining.

"Also called Tinitianes, the Batak people are considered by anthropologists to be closely related to the Ayta of Central Luzon, another Negrito tribe. They tend to be small in stature, with dark skin and short curly or "kinky" hair, traits which originally garnered the "Negrito" groups their name. Still, there is some debate as to whether the Batak are related to the other Negrito groups of the Philippines or actually to other, physically similar groups in Indonesia, or as far away as the Andaman islands."

The visit was done by the 4th MBLT in partnership with the Municipality of Roxas (LGU), Western Command (WESCOM), the Asia Foundation, Kiwanis Club of Puerto Princesa, Ms. Atila Yap, Ms. Eleanor Enopia, and Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office of the Provincial Government of Palawan (PSWDO-PGP).

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=973974