People's Recovery, Empowerment and
Development Assistance Foundation, Inc.

Hello from Central Luzon. Region! Our membership at present consists of 6 Social Action Center - Zambales, San Jose, Cabanatuan, Bataan, Zambales and Tarlac; 3 NGO'S- PREDA, IMMIFI, and CARRD; and I PO - LAKAS. The ranges of interests and different focuses of concern of these groups cover many of the social concerns of the region and indeed of the country.

An IP leader offering a prayer for the success of the activities during the incoming ceremony of Indigenous People Forum organized by Central Luzon Cluster.

The initial meetings of the PMP Central Luzon sought to identify a priority area. The concerns of Aeta community emerged as top of our agenda. In our various sharing of experiences, we have realized that all the members of the cluster are working in different ways with the Aeta people. That we have had good links with the different communities and also expertise in different areas.

We have held 8 meetings since March 2003 and hosted one regional PEACE Forum. We also organized the 'Fiesta ng Katutubo' last October 22 celebrating the culture of the Aeta people. This celebration included a holy mass and a program attended by 840 people.

On October 17, 2003, the cluster members decided to hold an IP provincial consultation in order to further identify the best ways forward and what shall we focus on. Provincial Consultation results were consolidated and were presented in a PEACE Forum held at SACOP San Fernando Pampanga. It was recognized as a significant venue in identifying and in prioritizing the concerns of PMP Central Luzon. Record shows that there were 120 participants who attended this activity. Included among others were representatives from Aeta communities, government organizations, non- government organizations, and religious and church organizations. During the forum problems were identified. Almost all of the representatives from the government organizations have tried to present their commitments and areas for cooperation depending on their agencies' doables and capacity to respond. Coming together as one in this whole day activity, the following agenda/ action points for the PMP Central Luzon were identified and agreed upon. These include Poverty (particularly as experienced by IP communities), Implementation of laws for the development of IP Communities, Acquisition of certificate of ancestral Domain title, Environmental issues, Armed Conflict.. Sex tourism vs. eco- tourism, Government and graft concerns. 

As a follow-up and in concretizing the responses for the above-identified agenda for Central Luzon, an activity entitled "IP Proposal Write-shop" was conducted on March 4-5, 2004. With this activity, we are hopeful that we can begin putting shape to our joint project directed towards our common aim in addressing poverty especially as it is experienced in IP communities.

During the forum, the IP participants were gathered in a workshop were they were able to ventilate their issues and concerns which were presented before the government line agencies.

In Central Luzon we are luckier that some other clusters do not experience huge problems whenever we have cluster meetings, the roads and transport connections are good and neither do we have to face the possibility of encountering armed conflict. We meet in a different venue each time and include in our time together an exposure to the venue where we meet. This has given us an opportunity to learn more about each other's projects and places which in turn helps us to understand each other's realities. (So far PREDA has been wonderful samples of their fair trade dried fruits….!)

Each meeting is friendlier than the last, as we get to know and are more comfortable with each other, inquiring about each other's work and achievements. Following the last NCC meeting in Tagaytay it is obvious now that the next thing for us to do as a cluster in terms of our growth and development is to approach other groups who might like to join. In order to do this we need to think through the issues about membership. It was good for us to hear the experiences of other clusters, and learn from them how they managed & responded to this issue.

Mr. Alex Corpus Hermoso, PREDA Programme Director and Edline Brutos, PREDA's Canadian volunteer pledge their continuous support to the welfare of IP's.

As we go forward together in our journey, it is important to note that the learning has been both formal and informal. By formal we mean that we meet and plan activities together and achieve our plans e.g. do a survey, produce a schedule together agree on poverty indicators, conduct a forum with IP's and all others In doing these we also learn informally about the members of our cluster; what are their strengths and weaknesses who can facilitate, who is good in documentation, who is the one who can illustrate, who is the one who can make us laugh and raise our energy towards the end of the day. This has helped us grow in confidence as we work together towards the greater goal. It has also shown us in a very practical way how much more is gained when you work together, sharing resources and expertise.

Likewise, being part of the PMP national family has also allowed us in Central Luzon to learn more about our colleague in different parts of the Philippines. Hopefully we can share and learn together, for example as our Central Luzon initiative to work with the IP's on poverty alleviation grows we may need to ask advice from more experienced colleagues in Mindanao or Mountain Province. This will save us in reinventing the wheel. We hope that the others will also feel free to contact us for any help that they think our combined expertise can offer. Being part of the PMP network has also helped our informal education as our hearts and horizons have been opened as we learn more about the challenges of facing our colleagues in other parts of the country. We are learning from the grassroots about the issues, which have never been highlighted in the national media.

Mr. Carlito Domulot of LAKAS during an interview by media practitioners highlighting the sad plight of the indigenous people but amidst all their struggles LAKAS is one of the best organized and empowered IP groups.

Finally we say, the journey of the PMP Central Luzon has been a busy but interesting one. Our next challenges are to increase the membership of the group and to look at formalizing, membership structures. We are, optimistic that there are others in our region who have much to give and hopefully much to gain from being part of a network of learning, service, and community, which is building bridges with in and across countries and cultures.
By Cel Enriquez & Helen Mitchell

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