Eco concerns raised over land conversion in Tarlac Aeta communities

OLONGAPO CITY — Extensive land conversion and earth-moving activities in Capas, Tarlac, have raised concerns over the potential impact on water sources, agricultural lands and biodiversity as the government prepares an area in New Clark City for a proposed  Economic Security Zone (ESZ), environmental advocates said on Sunday.

More than 50 environmentalists, scientists, engineers, youth, artists and representatives of sectoral organizations joined a solidarity mission to Ayta and peasant communities in Sitios Manabayukan and Binyayan in Barangay O’Donnell on Saturday to document the reported impacts of preparations for the ESZ, being advanced under the US-backed Pax Silica initiative.

The Network Opposed to Pax Silica (NO to Pax Silica) said residents reported cases of displacement, land grabbing and harassment amid competing government and private interests in their ancestral territories. 

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The group also raised concerns over the conversion of ancestral and agricultural lands, the removal of traditional Ayta burial grounds without community consent, and the potential effects of earth-moving activities on water sources, natural habitats and biodiversity.

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The mission brought together environmental advocates and engineers to assess the possible effects of the development on local ecosystems, water resources and agricultural production.

Engineer J.A. Montalban of Pro-People Engineers and Leaders (PROPEL), who joined the mission, said rivers and streams in the areas visited that had not yet been affected by ESZ activities remained clean, with no visible signs of pollution.

“These water sources are used by local residents for domestic purposes and recreation,” Montalban said.

The delegation conducted an initial environmental scoping in Sitios (subvillages) Manabayukan and Binyayan to identify potential ecological impacts of the development, including risks to water sources, productive agricultural lands and local biodiversity.

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The group called for an independent environmental assessment and meaningful consultations with affected communities before further land conversion and earth-moving activities proceed.

“Massive earth-moving activities and widespread land conversion are already disturbing local ecosystems and threatening biodiversity,” Cathleen de Guzman, national coordinator of the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment.

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“BCDA (Bases Conversion and Development Authority) is pushing ahead with environmentally destructive activities without adequately addressing their potential impacts on local communities and the environment,” she added.

De Guzman accused the administration of rushing to prepare the area for Pax Silica to accommodate US interests while communities that had lived on and cared for the land for generations bore the consequences.

She said Philippine land and resources were being prepared for a project serving foreign economic and strategic priorities while the rights and welfare of Aeta communities were being pushed aside.

In Sitio Binyayan, the delegation visited traditional Ayta burial grounds that the network said had been removed and converted by the BCDA without the community’s consent.

The group said the loss of the burial grounds threatened the community’s cultural heritage and spiritual connection to its ancestral land.

Ayta chieftain Orlando Gutierrez said their community had long faced displacement threats from government and private interests, including a government military reservation and private resorts on one side and the planned ESZ on the other.

Ayta woman leader Ofelia Dalis of Sitio Manabayukan said her community would continue defending its ancestral land, citing generations of ties to the area and the sacrifices of their ancestors.

The network called on the administration to halt destructive land conversion and earth-moving activities pending an independent environmental assessment and meaningful consultation with affected communities.

It also urged the government to protect Ayta ancestral lands, local livelihoods, agricultural areas, water sources and biodiversity, while providing basic social services to communities it said had long been neglected.

The solidarity mission included representatives of NO to Pax Silica, Kalikasan PNE, KATRIBU, Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, League of Filipino Students and ALAB Against Pax Silica. Members of the media also joined the activity.

The groups reiterated their opposition to the BCDA’s ESZ and called for the rejection of the proposed Pax Silica agreement, which they said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. was pushing to sign in connection with US President Donald Trump’s scheduled visit to the Philippines in November.

They urged the Marcos administration to stop prioritizing US economic and strategic interests over the rights of Filipino communities.

The network maintained that Philippine land, water and energy should serve the Filipino people, arguing that no technological or economic initiative could justify displacing Indigenous communities, destroying their ancestral lands or sacrificing local livelihoods and ecosystems for foreign interests.

Earlier,  BCDA president and chief executive officer Joshua Bingcang said that fewer than 50 households will be affected by the relocation related to the 1,619-hectare site earmarked for the US-backed Pax Silica hub, citing an updated census conducted in coordination with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.

Bingcang said the affected residents occupy only a small portion of the sprawling development site, where some areas are used for housing and farming.

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The BCDA held what Bingcang described as “fruitful negotiations” with the affected communities on Sept. 29, reaching a general understanding on their relocation to another area within New Clark City.