Aeta families celebrate different Christmas holidays amid Covid disruption

AROUND 500 Aeta and lowland families from Mabalacat, Pampanga on Monday received food packs from the Office of Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, extending the holiday spirit to some of the country's isolated communities.

The pandemic, according to village officer Ruby Queddeng of Barangay Calumpang, which is some 109 kilometers away from Manila, has upset the livelihood of Aetas who work in Clark due to lack of transportation.

"Ang hirap din ng epekto ng pandemya dito sa amin. Hindi kami makatinda nang maayos dahil hindi kami makaluwas. Narinig namin sa TV na bawal lumabas. Pag may bisita lang ako nakakatinda nang pakonti-konti, pambili ng pagkain," said Terla, 52, farmer and vendor.

Queddeng, a barangay kagawad, said education among the community's schoolchildren has also been disrupted.

She said most of the children in the village study by module which presents great difficulty for their parents who cannot tutor their children on the school lessons.

"Wala ring gadgets ang mga bata. Naghihiraman lang sa cellphone at mahirap din ang signal dito," Queddeng added.

While most Aetas are not Christians, they celebrate a kind of thanksgiving during the harvest month of December, the barangay kagawad said. And thankfully, she said, the community has been Covid-free.

The villagers thanked Pangilinan for remembering them during the holidays.

"Salamat kay Senator Kiko na nakaalala sa amin," said Terla.

Barangay Captain Armando Yalung said: "Salamat po sa pagmamahal niyo at tulong niyo dito sa amin sa kabundukan. Sana po patuloy ang ating ugnayan sa pagtutulungan. Nagpapasalamat po sa pamaskong binigay niyo po sa amin."

"Nagpapasalamat po kami kay senator sa pagbigay niya ng gift at ngayong panahon ng pandemya naalala ang mga katutubo dito sa Pampanga," said Queddeng.

Pangilinan has roots in Pampanga as his late father Donato, an engineer, was born and raised in Santo Tomas, Pampanga.