FIGHT FOR TERRITORY Aeta community members put up fences in Barangay Sta. Fe, San Marcelino, Zambales, on Sunday, asserting that the area is part of their ancestral domain. —Photo courtesy of Trolie Romualdo
SAN ANTONIO, ZAMBALES, Philippines — Aeta community members began fencing parts of Mt. Bagang in San Marcelino on Sunday, claiming the area is part of their ancestral domain despite a Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) finding that a private company’s forest plantation application does not overlap with any approved Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT).
The fencing was led by Aeta leader Trolie Romualdo, who said the community’s CADT is identified as CADT No. 280, contrary to information earlier provided by Zambales Provincial Environment and Natural Resources officer Marife Castillo.
Castillo said the DENR’s verification, based on available references and data from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), showed that the Socialized Industrial Forest Management Agreement (Sifma) application of Philippine Ocean Business Corporation (POBC) did not encroach on any approved CADT.
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