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Carlito Domulot,
LAKAS President
He does not even know when he was born.
He has difficulty in reading and writing
especially in English. Yet, Ka Carling (Carlito
Domulot) is a very able and articulate
leader.
Approximately, Ka Carling is 45 years
old. He said that because he is an Aeta and
did not have the chance to study in formal
school, he does not know the exact date of
his birthday. All he remembers is that when
Martial Law was declared (in 1972), he was
already a strong teenager working in the
field.
His first encounter with leadership and
organization formation was a little bit
unusual. In 1985, he started as a cook in
the seminars conducted in their community.
Sr. Carmen Balaso, FMM (well known as Sr.
Mengay), who helped them in many aspects of
their life, convinced Ka Carling to organize
a group.
With the help of LAKAS, they organized an
organization named Lahi ng Ayta ng Poonbato
Iisa ang Tungo (LAPIT). He became the
president of this group whose main program
was the management of consumer and marketing
cooperative.
His leadership ability was improved and
developed by attending non-formal trainings.
He learned to read, write and count by
joining the literacy program of LAKAS. He
was very patient and diligent in his study.
His knowledge and skills acquired through
literacy became very useful as a manager in
their cooperative. Late, he was elected as
treasurer of LAKAS, a position which he
handled for six (6) years.
In 1996, he had the opportunity to attend
the General Leadership Course conducted by
ELF. After three years, he was elected as
chairperson of LAKAS. This new
responsibility became difficult for him
because this is the year when the sisters of
FMM was phased out from Botolan.
Consequently, all the management aspects of
FMM programs in LAKAS were transferred to
the leadership.
In spite of this, Ka Carling remains an
active community leader. He is also active
in coordinating with different tribes all
over the Philippines.
As a leader, Ka Carling has gone through
a lot of trials. He even experienced being
harassed by the military, accusing that
their cooperative is supporting the NPA. He
also had an unpleasant experience of
competition with other businessmen when
their cooperative is growing. On the other
hand, he also received negative remarks from
other member of their cooperative every time
he criticized their work attitude.
Presently, his dream as a leader is to
strengthen the youth who, he believes, are
the future leaders of their community. Ka
Carling said that they made their
organization strong even if they have no
formal education. And he strongly believes
that the youth with good education can make
this even stronger.
He also dreams of building a strong
Paaralang Bayan ng mga Ayta sa Zambales (PBAZ)-
a folkschool for the Aeta in Zambales. He
wants PBAZ to be known not only in the
Philippines but to other country as well. He
wants the youth to have a good education so
that they can run and manage PBAZ in the
future.
Aside from PBAZ, Ka Carling is also an
active member of a national government body.
Since 1998, he is a council member of
Anti-Poverty Commission- a commission under
the office of the Philippine President. In
this commission, he represents the
indigenous people in advocating for their
rights especially on the issue of ancestral
domain. Part of being a council member of
Anti-Poverty Commission, he attends the
quarterly meeting in Malacanang.
He was also a member of the Social Reform
Agenda (SRA) forum during the time of
President Ramos. In this forum, he advocated
the protection of environment and the
indigenous peoples claim for their ancestral
domain.
While being active in advocating the
national agenda of indigenous people, he is
also active in the municipal and regional
organizations. He is the Chairperson of
PASAMBOT (Samahan ng mga Magsasaka ng
Botolan) and PASAMA (Samahan ng Magsasaka sa
Gitnang Luzon). He is also the
vice-chairperson on the Stewardship Contract
of DENR in Mt. Pinatubo.
Ka Carling has developed his own unique
style of public speaking. His wisdom can
make his audience laugh while thinking
critically. He is frequently invited as a
guest speaker in different organizations,
universities and even some government
agencies all over the Philippines. He said
that Apo Namalyari (God) gives him
the inner strength to speak in front of many
"educated" people. This is why he always
asks for His guidance so that he can deliver
his message effectively.
"Formal school is not the only school for
the people," he realized. "You can also
learn through constant interaction with
different NGOs, government agencies and
fellow indigenous." He believes that
knowledge should be shared specially with
fellow indigenous people all over the
Philippines. He says: "If you will not use
your knowledge, it will be taken away by
Apo Namalyari."
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Leticia Gomez,
Woman Leader
I used to be a shy member of our
organization and I did not want to have any
responsibility. But now, I am totally
different, I have a bigger responsibility in
the organization as a cashier and as
an educator to my fellow indigenous people.
I work as a cashier with PASS (Pederasyon
ng mga Aytang Samahan sa Sambales). As a
cashier, I don't only manage the finances
but I also do some field work to check if
the project is properly implemented.
PASS is composed of four (4) different
holders of Certificate of Ancestral Domain (CADC)
from Botolan (Barangay Poonbato and Villar),
Cabangan (Maporac), and San Felipe (Banawen).
Agro-forestry is our major project wherein
we plant trees such as calamansi, mangoes,
and many others. The Foundation for
Philippine Environment (FPE) is our funding
partner in this project.
Aside from my work at PASS, I am also
busy with my work at as a trainor of PBAZ (Paaralang
Bayan ng mga Ayta sa Zambales)
As a trainor, I help in the management
and facilitation of the training programs
being conducted by PBAZ. If there is a
Distance Learning Program being implemented
in our place, I act as the facilitator (kaagapay)
of the learning group. I used to be a
kaantabay who manages the implementation
of the distance learning course.
We started the Alternative Learning
System (ALS) program, to help the
out-of-school youth in our community and
give them the opportunity to study. Although
I am not a college graduate, I was given the
chance to become one of the instructional
managers of ALS program. And I consider this
one of the biggest success in my life.
I want to make sure that I can perform
all my responsibilities efficiently. I also
take an active participation in negotiation
with different government agencies for our
projects. In the future, we hope to
implement the project on biodiversity with
the help of UNDP.
In spite of all my duties in our
organization, I still manage to do my role
as a mother. My family is very supportive in
everything I do. They know that I am a very
busy person. I usually wake up at 4 o'clock
in the morning and leave the house at 8 am.
Just like other Aeta, I am also dreaming
of having my own land. And I want our rights
over our ancestral lands to be recognized.
The General Leadership Course of the Paaralang Bayan
helped me a lot to become a good leader. And
I am continuously developing my skills and
ability as a leader.
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Desiree
Carbonel,
Youth Leader
I really wanted to become a member of any
organization because I'm happy if I can help
other people especially my fellow indigenous
people. Sometimes I don't only join but I
lead the organizations- in our community,
church, school and in Paaralang Bayan (PBAZ).
I have joined many organizations but I
have acquired so much knowledge and skills
from the Paaralang Bayan. This organization
help me improved my ability as a leader. I
always apply what I have learned to be an
effective leader even in other organizations
that I am involved with. I have many
challenging leadership experiences. These
include exposure in organizing,
explaining the programs of PBAZ,
negotiation, facilitation and communication
in front of many people. I always make
myself available whenever we have an
activity I am also an Instructional
Manager (IM) of the Alternative Learning
System (ALS) Program of PBAZ. This program
is for the youth and adult who want to
pursue their studies and finished high
school. Aside from being an IM, I am also
one of the writers in the module on
Indigenous People's Rights Act (IPRA) that
we will use in ALS program. I was able to
use the negotiation skills that I have
learned from the folkschool when I visited
the office of our municipal mayor and asked
his support and assistance to our fiesta.
And our good mayor shouldered the expenses
for the sound system. Before, I had no
courage or confidence to talk and approach
our Mayor by myself. I was also a
member of the student council in our
university. Sometimes I was thinking that my
course in computer science is not related to
what I am doing now. In fact, I am planning
to shift my course to education but
unfortunately I wasn't able to catch up for
the enrollment. I really want to become a
teacher so that I can help better the people
in our community. A lot of people in our
community are illiterate. Being the eldest
in our family, I want to set a good example
to my brothers and sisters. My parents stay
in the field where they work. They usually
come home once a week. So, I take and assume
their responsibility as parents to my
brothers and sisters. My dream is to
finish my studies and perform well my duties
and responsibilities in the folkschool.
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Fe "Epang" Domulot,
Youth Leader She is the youth
from the Pinatubo Aeta tribe of Bihawo,
Botolan, Zambales, Philippines. Through the
funds raised by her organization called
LAKAS she was able to pursue college. For
her board and lodging needs while studying,
she works at Preda Foundation. She won the
first prize for her essay entitled
"Pinatubo" in a writing competition
sponsored by PHILVOCS. It feels good to read
an essay about Aetas written by an Aeta. She
leads in the community and is actively
involved in advancing the indigenous
peoples' rights, sustainable environment,
and participatory governance. Epang
symbolizes the indigenous leaders of her
generation. The Pinatubo Aetas of Zambales
appreciate education as a crucial means of
preserving their race, culture and
traditions amidst the changing world order.
They write their stories. They draw maps to
claim their ancestral land. They count their
yields in exchange of other needs. They
negotiate for their issues to the
authorities. If there will be many Epangs,
life would be more empowering to the
Pinatubo Aeta of Zambales.
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Education
for Life Foundation, Inc.
