Surviving after Mt. Pinatubo at the former U.S. Naval Base in Subic Bay
The Aetas of the Philippines: Lowland living by promoting tourism
The Aetas of the Philippines: Lowland living by promoting tourism
During my last visit with my family in Subic, I noticed that
the Aetas who performed were definitely bicultural children
already, a clear sign of assimilation and intermarriage with the
lowlanders. I learned that a number of them go to school,
speak lowland dialects and some English. When not
performing, they are fully clothed and wearing sandals or
shoes. They have adapted in the lowland.
I guess Apo Mallari had decided that the Aetas should
each live longer than 16 1/2 years.
the Aetas who performed were definitely bicultural children
already, a clear sign of assimilation and intermarriage with the
lowlanders. I learned that a number of them go to school,
speak lowland dialects and some English. When not
performing, they are fully clothed and wearing sandals or
shoes. They have adapted in the lowland.
I guess Apo Mallari had decided that the Aetas should
each live longer than 16 1/2 years.
By Heidi M. Pascual
The Aetas (eye-tas) are the Philippines’ indigenous people who live in the
mountains of western Luzon. They are also sometimes called Agta, Ayta, or Ita,
and they have long been considered one of the earliest inhabitants of the
country. During the Spanish regime, Spaniards called the Aetas “Negritos,”
meaning small, dark-skinned, curly haired mountain people. The men wear G-
strings while women wear wrap-around skirts.
The Aetas, like some other indigenous people of the country, were very
resistant to change. It was only after the repeated intrusions of lowland folks —
local and foreign — who made money through mining and logging operations,
did the Aetas’ way of living start to change. Nevertheless, they were known for
resiliency that allowed them to ward off any pressure from the outside world for
hundreds of years.
Mostly nomadic, the Aetas hunt for wild animals and practice slash-and-
burn farming. Thus, their world is made up of the mountain ranges from where
they get their livelihood. One of these mountains is Mt. Pinatubo, located in the
province of Zambales, which the Aetas consider not only as their home, but the
home of their god, Apo Mallari, a supreme being. Mt. Pinatubo is also revered
as the place where their forefathers’ spirits had taken the form of animals, trees,
and earth mounds. Mt. Pinatubo has been their world, from birth to grave. The
Aetas’ lifespan, according to records, has been 16 1/2 years.
The Aetas (eye-tas) are the Philippines’ indigenous people who live in the
mountains of western Luzon. They are also sometimes called Agta, Ayta, or Ita,
and they have long been considered one of the earliest inhabitants of the
country. During the Spanish regime, Spaniards called the Aetas “Negritos,”
meaning small, dark-skinned, curly haired mountain people. The men wear G-
strings while women wear wrap-around skirts.
The Aetas, like some other indigenous people of the country, were very
resistant to change. It was only after the repeated intrusions of lowland folks —
local and foreign — who made money through mining and logging operations,
did the Aetas’ way of living start to change. Nevertheless, they were known for
resiliency that allowed them to ward off any pressure from the outside world for
hundreds of years.
Mostly nomadic, the Aetas hunt for wild animals and practice slash-and-
burn farming. Thus, their world is made up of the mountain ranges from where
they get their livelihood. One of these mountains is Mt. Pinatubo, located in the
province of Zambales, which the Aetas consider not only as their home, but the
home of their god, Apo Mallari, a supreme being. Mt. Pinatubo is also revered
as the place where their forefathers’ spirits had taken the form of animals, trees,
and earth mounds. Mt. Pinatubo has been their world, from birth to grave. The
Aetas’ lifespan, according to records, has been 16 1/2 years.
Mt. Pinatubo eruption
On June 12-15, 1991, Mt. Pinatubo erupted. According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and
Seismology, Mt. Pinatubo is a volcano that had been in slumber for more than 400 years. This eruption was so
violent that it ejected “more than five billion cubic meters of ash and pyroclastic debris, and produced eruption
columns 18 kilometers wide at the base and heights reaching up to 30 kilometers above the volcano’s vent.” Its
ejected ash and debris even reached several countries and harmed the environment for months. It killed and
injured hundreds of people, displaced millions of people, and destroyed millions of dollars in property and
infrastructure. Most of all, the Mt. Pinatubo eruption destroyed the home of the Aetas and the sacred place of
Apo Mallari. The Aetas believed that Apo Mallari caused the eruption because he was angry at illegal loggers
and others who were destroying the mountain.
Coincidentally, the Mt. Pinatubo eruption also forced the immediate evacuation of the United States
military personnel and their families from the U.S. Naval Base in Subic Bay (a major ship repair, supply and RR
facility in the Pacific) and Clark Air Base in Pampanga. In 1992, the Philippine Senate voted not to renew the
U.S. Military Bases Agreement. The Philippine government then created the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority
to clean up and develop the Subic Bay area into a major international trading port that it is today.
On June 12-15, 1991, Mt. Pinatubo erupted. According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and
Seismology, Mt. Pinatubo is a volcano that had been in slumber for more than 400 years. This eruption was so
violent that it ejected “more than five billion cubic meters of ash and pyroclastic debris, and produced eruption
columns 18 kilometers wide at the base and heights reaching up to 30 kilometers above the volcano’s vent.” Its
ejected ash and debris even reached several countries and harmed the environment for months. It killed and
injured hundreds of people, displaced millions of people, and destroyed millions of dollars in property and
infrastructure. Most of all, the Mt. Pinatubo eruption destroyed the home of the Aetas and the sacred place of
Apo Mallari. The Aetas believed that Apo Mallari caused the eruption because he was angry at illegal loggers
and others who were destroying the mountain.
Coincidentally, the Mt. Pinatubo eruption also forced the immediate evacuation of the United States
military personnel and their families from the U.S. Naval Base in Subic Bay (a major ship repair, supply and RR
facility in the Pacific) and Clark Air Base in Pampanga. In 1992, the Philippine Senate voted not to renew the
U.S. Military Bases Agreement. The Philippine government then created the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority
to clean up and develop the Subic Bay area into a major international trading port that it is today.
| (Clockwise from top right) An idol at the entrance to the Aetas’ Village; war dance; an Aeta hut; wedding dance; taking care of a bear cat; Aeta men on parade; playful youngsters; an Aeta holds a python in Zoobic Safari |
Life After Mt. Pinatubo
In the days following the Mt. Pinatubo eruption, hundreds of
Aetas, young and old, were seen along the highways and roads of
Central Luzon, begging for food and looking for shelters. Many
reached urban areas including Metro Manila where they joined
the ranks of the homeless and the very poor. It was difficult not to
feel the pain and the hopelessness of a group of people ill-
equipped to live in the lowlands.
It took some time before the Aetas, with the help of the
government and many charitable organizations, local and
foreign, were able to start rebuilding their lives. While many
Aetas decided to go back to the mountains close to Mt.
Pinatubo, hundreds of families decided to stay in the lowlands,
preferring the rural areas in sitios and districts of Zambales,
Tarlac, and Pampanga. Many, particularly the younger ones,
have learned to assimilate.
The Aetas in Subic Bay
The former U.S. Naval Base, Subic Bay, is now home to
Zoobic Safari, the adventure park noted for numerous Bengali
tigers and wildlife from the Philippines and other parts of the
world. Zoobic Safari has become a major tourist attraction in
Subic Bay, and a major employer of the Aetas in this part of
Zambales. Aetas take care of the animals in captivity in the zoo,
and they perform before tourists and guests twice a day, sharing
some of their tribal dances, such as their wedding and war
dances.
In the days following the Mt. Pinatubo eruption, hundreds of
Aetas, young and old, were seen along the highways and roads of
Central Luzon, begging for food and looking for shelters. Many
reached urban areas including Metro Manila where they joined
the ranks of the homeless and the very poor. It was difficult not to
feel the pain and the hopelessness of a group of people ill-
equipped to live in the lowlands.
It took some time before the Aetas, with the help of the
government and many charitable organizations, local and
foreign, were able to start rebuilding their lives. While many
Aetas decided to go back to the mountains close to Mt.
Pinatubo, hundreds of families decided to stay in the lowlands,
preferring the rural areas in sitios and districts of Zambales,
Tarlac, and Pampanga. Many, particularly the younger ones,
have learned to assimilate.
The Aetas in Subic Bay
The former U.S. Naval Base, Subic Bay, is now home to
Zoobic Safari, the adventure park noted for numerous Bengali
tigers and wildlife from the Philippines and other parts of the
world. Zoobic Safari has become a major tourist attraction in
Subic Bay, and a major employer of the Aetas in this part of
Zambales. Aetas take care of the animals in captivity in the zoo,
and they perform before tourists and guests twice a day, sharing
some of their tribal dances, such as their wedding and war
dances.
