The Aeta community of Mt. Pinatubo in Sitio Tarukgan, Barangay Sta. Juliana, Capas, Tarlac has set up a barricade since April 18 to assert their rights to their land. They said that they have not been properly compensated for several years now by the state tourism agency and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) has done nothing to help them. Operators have long been earning large profits from tourism businesses established on the Aeta’s ancestral land, while those who defend the land receive very little or almost nothing in return.

Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas expressed solidarity with the struggle of the Aeta communities. It stated that the Aetas “have the right to fight injustice, protect their ancestral land from plunder, and correct how their culture and land are treated.” While the Aeta are used as ornaments for tourism, they are systematically deprived of the right to decide on tourism businesses and to a share in the profits.

Tourism in Mt. Pinatubo continues to operate without genuine free, prior, and informed consent; it is not culturally sensitive and lacks appropriate compensation and benefits for the Aeta communities. This shows the NCIP’s incompetence and betrayal, which, despite the grievances of the affected communities, remains insensitive, silent, and doing nothing.

Katribu calls on tourists and the general public to respect the barricade and not to patronize the businesses that profit from exploiting the indigenous people. Stand with the Aeta and listen to the voices of the communities who have long managed these lands even before tourism arrived in the area.