These three short documentaries show how the New Clark City, touted as the first green city in the country, has wreaked havoc on the livelihood of Ayta Hung-ey and on the environment. Their collective rights, particularly the right to their ancestral domain, have been deliberately violated.
“If given the chance, I would like to speak with the Asian Development Bank, investors, and corporations to ask them why are they supporting the New Clark City project that brazenly violates our rights,” Chieftain Pet stated.
The Aytas in sitio Sapang Kawayan, barangay Ayanguren in Capas, Tarlac are defending their ancestral domain against the incursion of government agency and large corporations.
Local tribal leader Casamira Maniego, chair of their local organization Asosasyon ng Katutubong Mahawang, said 20 armed men were escorted by the local police arrived in their community earlier today, threatening the people’s barricade against the looming expansion of the New Clark City.
In just under six months of fieldwork, we saw the extreme and terrifying change of landscape in the affected areas: hundreds of trees were felled, creeks dried, and mountains flattened; this, despite claims from the Philippine government that New Clark City is “environment-friendly.”
The Aeta leader said that he supports the country’s national athletes because they are his countrymen. He said what he condemns is how easily the government dismissed their rights and the corruption and anomalies behind the SEA Games.
“It is our mission to come together and strengthen our defense of the environment in peril.“