Alternative Learning System for the Aeta Community: Equalizing Education to Cultural Minority Groups in Lopez, Quezon, Philippines

				could easily switch or change partner as the pair
				pleases. Another noticeable activity they often
“ALS is expected to provide solutions in areas				engage with is drinking. Moreover, in certain
of conflict, critical thinking, in indigenous people				occasion, a villager could get along with most of
communities and in areas where literacy is most				the Aeta over bottles of liquor or any alcoholic
wanting and where literacy is needed.”				drink and if Aetas drink alcohol, it ends to a
				drinking spree. This manner somehow affects
Hon. Jesli Lapus, Secretary of Department of				their attitude to learning. An adult Aeta clientele
Educatin				could compromise going to school just to a bottle
The government’s vision for non-formal				of liquor.
education is revitalized and epitomized through an				Battling these all sort of things every day, we as
Executive Order No. 358 S. 2004, rnaming and				their teachers or “Ate” as they call us,
reinventing of the Bureau of Nonformal Education				could freely tell that we influence their lives
to Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS)				toward the basic literacy and even more. Most of
whose vision is to view the Philippines as a nation				them have already accustomed to the ways of
where all the citizens, especially the marginalized				the civilized people. Emerging clienteles whom we
individual or group of learners who could not				have been teaching hard can already read and
equitably gain access to formal education because				write basic Filipino words, can calculate numbers
of unwanted conditions, be given equal access to				so that they well not be cheated by their
quality education by taking an alternative learning				“Amos” for their fair share of farm
system that will enable them to become				works, can practices basic sanitary hygiene from
productive workforce and members of the land.				brushing of teeth to basic housekeeping, and for
As its mandates, ALS is propelled by its functions				some who have fitted in to the latest technology
to:				can send short messaging service (SMS) via
				cellphone. The Aetas in Brgy. Villa Espina are
1. Address the learning needs of the marginalized				becoming like civilized people because of us, other
groups of the population including the deprived ,				local villager’s intervention, and the influences
depressed, and underserved citizens;				of the latest technology-stricken world.
2. Coordinate with various agencies for skills				With the programs being offered by the District,
development to enhance and ensure continuing				seeing ALS greater impact for the future of the
employability, efficiency, productivity, and				Aeta community, has a long way to go, of which
competitiveness in the labor market;				the District Coordinator and the researchers
3. Ensure the expansion of access to educational				unanimously agreed upon adding that a lot of
opportunities for citizens of different interests,				concerns or priorities still must and should be
capabilities demographic characteristics and				acted promptly.
socio-economic origins and status; and				OTHER CONCERNS
4. Promote certification and accreditation of
alternative learning programs both formal and				“Education to be meaningful must be rooted in
informal in nature of basic education.				the community life and experience of the people;
This mini case study focuses on the role of the				because learning takes place in this context as
ALS programs catered by the Lopez East District				well as in the way they understand the stages of
ALS coordinator and its local instructional				their cycle.”
managers to address the present needs and to
delineate briefly their clienteles’ way of life in				BALS framework
the settlement or community in Brgy. Villa Espina,
Lopez, Quezon. The Aetas in Lopez, Quezon can				To ensure the expansion of access of educational
not be overlooked for they are already adapting				opportunities and capability building, the BALS
to the changes in their surrounding. Furthermore,				national office has been training its ALS district
being members of the disadvantage group of				coordinators starting the opening year. One
people, giving them the opportunity to equal				seminar on ALS Trends & Updates for Full
access to education is a priority concern of the				Time District ALS Coordinators impacted much
government being carried over by its local				the approaches of Mrs. Oblina and her team of
counterpart.				local counterparts. Myriad of realization was
While some nongovernmental organizations also				absorbed by contemplating and living up with the
take part in aiding educational facilities and health				BALS framework. It does require change from
and sanitation service, this mini-case study				their usual approaches.
highlighted only the application of ALS in the
promotion of literacy among the Aetas of Lopez,				Meanwhile, on a division level training, the local ALS
Quezon, describing the attitude or responses of				people and some of the Aeta representatives
the clienteles in Aeta community toward the				attended just recently this month (August 2008).
realization of educational efforts starting February				They were exposed to training framework for
2008 to the present.				the Indigenous People (IP) and Indigenous People
				Core Curriculum (IPCC). With the help, expertise
This case study includes the initiatives and actions				of local indigenous people and in coordination with
of the ALS coordinator and her instructional				the National Commission on Indigenous People
managers’ common experience with their				(NCIP) Summer Institutes of Linguistic (SIL) and
clienteles and the attitude or behavior of the Aeta				other IP concerned agencies: the Bureau was able
clienteles toward its programs. It also includes				to develop an Indigenous Peoples (IP) Core
ethnographic account of how the usual ALS class				Curriculum. The competencies identified by the
goes on. The student-researchers were able to				ALS curriculum are now realized through a
validate such remarks and notes in direct				modular system of education that will guide the
observations and interview they conducted at the				coordinator, Instructional Managers and the Aeta
Aeta clienteles and its immediate community.				clienteles to mode and education the clienteles will
Majority of the data used in this report were				receive.
drawn from interview and observations from the
school site and reports of the Lopez East District				Citing this remarkable interventions or realization,
Alternative Learning System Office. On the other				the following concerns and points are noted by
hand, this mini-case study had also limitations. The				experts for the culturally sensitive and integrative
researchers initially recommend that another				delivery of instruction to the IP, specifically the
follow or related study on the subjects be				Aeta clienteles:
conducted concerning on the cultural impact of
this learning in an alternative way.				1.
ALTERNATIVE LEARNING SYSTEM OF LOPEZ				2. The development process not only ensured a
EAST DISTRICT AND THE AETA CLIENTELES IN				culture-sensitive core curriculum but also
BRGY. VILLA ESPINA				maximized local participation in all aspects of
				decision making and actions relevant to the
				finalization of the IP Core Curriculum.
				1.
The Alternative Learning System Coordinator of				2. Expert on IPCC remarked that without
Lopez East District who is in-charged of delivering				necessarily emphasizing an overkill tone, the highly
the programs of BALS to the Aeta community is				western-entrenched current educational system
Mrs. Angelina J. Oblina. On her team are two				has contributed to the further marginalization and
Instructional Managers (IM) and an Aeta				exploitation of IPs. The said system has been
coordinator. The two instructional managers are				producing graduates who are trained to become
the key teachers and implementers who directly				employees and not as entrepreneurs who can
get involved and supervised and promote ALS				become employers.
program to the Aeta Community. Mrs. Mabel A.				1.
Oblina and Wilma Capistrano are the IMs, who are				2. The Right-Based Approach (RBA) to education
paid by the local government with a monthly				verbalizes these facts. Its strengths sustainable
honorarium of P 4, 500.00 pesos each. The Aeta				development and the exercise of
coordinator is Andy Villa Franco, local villager who				self-determination in as much as education is
maintains direct contact to the Aeta community				supposed to be an “enabling” (for
clienteles in the absence of the IMs or the ALS				recognition and empowerment), an
coordinator.				“ensuring” (for protection) and an
				“enhancing” (for development and
From non-formal to ALS, it formally opened last				promotion) tool for indigenous Peoples, their
February 2008. Through local ALS				ancestral domains and their cultural integrity.
Coordinator’s initiatives of hiring local funded
instructional managers and her unquestionably				Adding the important issues mentioned, on the
commitment to its program implementation, ALS				literature of a news article of Ina
instruction to the Aeta community begun. Since its				Hernando-Malipot, available at she stressed the
target clienteles are the Aeta community,				study done by Dr. Jill Bevan-Brown, associate
encouragement and recruitment to this displaced				professor at Massey University in New Zealand
minority was the biggest toll at the onset.				during the 5th International Conference on
				Teacher Education (ICTED) marking that the
Formerly, on her report, Mrs. Oblina was able to				children with special needs from ethnic minority
delineate some of its beginning noting the following				groups can have additional disadvantage.
points.
				In her talk entitled, "Culturally Appropriate
Tribal groups, specifically Aetas are the deprived,				Provisions for Children with Special Needs from
depressed and undeserved population. Their				Ethnic Minority Groups: A Story of Two Maori
settlement can be found in a far-flung area.				Initiatives," Dr. Brown mentioned that for children
Uncivilized and illiterate, only few attended formal				with special needs from ethnic minority groups,
schooling because they do not understand the				having access to special education provisions is
benefit that education could give to a person. On				not a problem. In fact, in various special education
September 1, 1994, Non-Formal Education (NFE)				categories, they are over-represented. "However,
brought the school for the Aetas, through				receiving an education that is culturally-appropriate
“Magbasa Kita Project” a basic literacy				and effective is major issue."
program of the department. I was assigned to
handle the class or community of Aeta as				"Thus, we have developed two initiatives that aim
“para-teacher” at the same time				to improve this situation – the teachers
“ate” not ma’am or teacher by the				conducting a cultural self-review of their early
Aetas. Back then, I introduced the phono-syllabic				childhood center or school as part of their SpEd
lessons. The school was made up of nipa that				qualification; and the involvement of government
existed in Villa Espina. The enrollees of these				agencies, teachers and parents of the children,"
classes are of no age limit.				Dr. Brown revealed.
Dealing with Aetas as one of the NFE/ALS
clienteles is not an easy task for me. So, I				Dr. Brown finally said that in gaining education,
mobilized our local system. It is indeed very				children with special needs have additional
challenging on our part. We had a hard time				challenges compared to their non-disabled peers.
encouraging and motivating them so that they will				"Similarly, children with special needs from ethnic
come to school. Convincing them to come to				minority groups face challenges their disabled
school even included drinking liquor with them.				peers from majority cultures do not face, these
Furthermore, we use variety of ways and				children have been dealt ‘double
approaches to be able to win their interest. The				whammy’."
school set-up lasted for some years yet their
ways of living have not changed despite all the				The literature clearly appeals that change or
efforts exerted by their other mentors. Some still				innovation must be made to fit to the educational
carried the old practices and do not even own a				needs of the Aeta community in Brgy. Villa Espina,
house where they can live permanently and				Lopez, Quezon. Since the ALS in this community
comfortably.				is newly born, greater measures adaptive to their
Construction of two-room building sponsored by				or Aeta clienteles’ culture which is being
the ABS-CBN “Tree of Hope Program”				compromised should and must be acted upon not
built last year (2007) became one of the				only by the ALS people, but also by the LGU, the
motivating factors that led the Aetas to take				NCIP, and most of all by people who are in control
ALS program. ALS program formally started				of major local resources.
from February to April 2008. Fortunately, out of				IMPLEMENTATION REQUIREMENTS
more or less 50 households, Fifty-four Aetas
were its first batch of students. The group was				The following questions have become starting
divided into two separate classes. The first group				points to ponder. Is the ALS in Villa Espina
consisted of young Aetas for 6 to 13 years old				“enabling” its Aeta clienteles (for
under the tutelage of Mrs. Wilma A. Oblina. This				recognition and empowerment)?
group is at the beginning level of instructional. The				“Ensuring” (for protection)? And
other class, under Mrs. Wilma Capistrano				“enhancing” (for development and
comprised of the teenagers to adult consisting of				promotion) tool for indigenous Peoples, their
13 years old to as old as forty-four. This group				ancestral domains and their cultural integrity?
could be considered as emergent learners
progressing from the very basic level. During this				Mrs. Oblina is hopeful that the modules on
grace period, meetings were done three times a				functional literacy that they have been waiting to
week. Instruction during those times focused				be delivered by the national office would be
mainly to basic literacy focus, which is more on				received at the soonest possible time to
reading of the alphabet (phono-syllabic lessons),				empower the process of instruction and
writing (specifically writing their names) and				therefore the Aeta clienteles. The Local
clienteles’ adjustment to alternative schooling.				Government Unit through the Municipal Mayor,
				Hon.Isaias Ubana, has been planning an initiative
Alternative Learning System programs continued				that would give the Aeta community a place of
starting this beginning school year, June 2008.				home and refuge where their inherit and latent
There was an increased enrolment. From				cultural ways and norms will be restored and
fifty-four (54) Aetas who enrolled last February, it				revived. The Municipal Mayor himself has just
escalated to seventy-four (74) this June. Out of				disclosed this local initiative to the ALS coordinator.
this 74, majority of which is female, 65% and				This mode of action if achieve would ensure
male, 35%. Ten of which are parents and mostly				protection. However, issues about ancestral
are young ones. “However, maintaining 100%				domain surfaces. This is not the first time,
attendance is the biggest problem,” the				municipal heads before the incumbent mayor had
instructional managers noted. On the average,				been appealed by the Aeta community though
50-60 % of the total enrolment comes to school				their local chieftain for support of their ancestral
regularly. Consequently, the food for school				land recovery. Unfortunately, the petition for land
program requested by the ALS District				recovery fell to deaf ears or should the
Coordinator which the Local Government Unit				researchers say “no clear response at the
(LGU) addressed the problem of abseeteism				moment”.
among the Aetas. However sustaining the
program is another concern. Meetings this time				With the trainings and supports given by the
are from Monday to Friday not unlike the				national and local government units side by side
previous one, which is only three times.				with the non-governmental sectors, the ALS
				Lopez East District and the researchers envision
The coordinator and instructional managers would				that the ALS for the Aeta community in Lopez,
recount that the usual or typical day would go like				Quezon on its long-term target goals will continue
this…				to realize and realize those following plans of:

The Aeta-clienteles would come to school in the				· Offering of food for school program be
morning. Not all students would come early.				sustained and as time progress be replaced by a
Others were still be coming from Brgy. Pisipis and				sustainable livelihood programs which the Aeta
other neighboring barangays. Some wore uniform				clienteles can be trained of and apparently leading
others in their ragged cloths. A flag ceremony				to their independence from aids to self-sufficient
used to be held at the start of the week. Then,				and working individual or group of the community;
the Aetas did housekeeping and other
pre-routinary activities. Basic alphabet to word				· Liberating the members of the Aeta
reading, writing, and arithmetic activities were				community from ignorance to functionally literate
provided for three hours. We would read aloud				people. A functionally literate person is defined as
the alphabet, minimal pair words, read short				one who can communicate effectively, solve
passages, and ask them to read aloud and write.				problems scientifically, creatively and think critically,
Most of them get bored easily for they had				use resources sustainable and be productive,
different types of learning. Most of them had				develop himself/herself and his/her sense of
usually short span of attention so we had quick				community and expand his/her world view;
breaks from time to time.
				· Accessing to accreditation and competency
Preparing the meal of the day was the most				tests is given to the ALS Aeta graduates. If the
important for them. Since some of them had not				clientele is successful in the competency exam,
taken breakfast or suffer the day before. After				going or transferring to the higher formal
the early morning routinary activities, we would be				education if he or she desires, will be
preparing the meal of the day where everybody				straightforward for them;
will be part. Food is the best reward and
encouragement we could offer them. Because of				· Having properly paid, equipped, and trained
food nourishment, they come to school. There				instructional managers. Nationalization of the locally
was even an incident that Aeta would come very				compensated IMs will empower them further to
late to school just in time for lunch. After a while				work not only as a teacher but as highly
or a siesta, Afternoon session would be allotted				committed social workers for the betterment of
to free and varied activities. Film viewing occupied				the clienteles; and
the most times, because of the Television set
and educational package, we have recently				· Educating them not only for literacy but also
received from a donation all the way from Hawaii.				for restoration of their cultural ways as
Televiewing became a part of the afternoon				Indigenous People (IP) who have their cultural
session. When the day was over, we teachers				integrity and ancestral domains creating their own
could not help but be challenged different				cultural identity as part and parcel of the Lopez,
adjustments met so as our Aeta clienteles.				Quezon community and of the Filipino people.

We find teaching and learning with them				To achieve all of these, which some are still in
demanding yet very stimulating because of some				plans, need hand-in-hand actions emanating both
reasons:				from the government and from the Aeta
				community. If this will be realized, equitable access
· Some unsanitary practices of some of the				to education is now at hand to those who need
Aeta clienteles are lessened. We introduced				and aspire for it. Apparently, tt comes from
teaching of basic sanitary hygiene. However, for				alternative ways, if non-governmental sectors
customary reason few would not heed our advice				even take part to this movement like the
for it already became their system since they				ABSCBN school building project for the Aeta, and
were born. Consequently, we got use to some of				other philanthropic individual who are all genuine in
their unsanitary practices but we always address				their interests, the social cultural revival and
them as much as possible teaching the parent				education empowerment for the Aetas will surely
clienteles the right ways though most of them do				be accomplished.
not care much to their children for customary				References and Further Readings:
reason.
· Abseetism is also common problem since the				Ina Hernando-Malipot news article available at
approach is new for them at the start. Looking at
them from a day-to-day perspective, most of				Executive Order No. 358 S. 2004 available at
them skip school because some work in farms by
harvesting young anahaw leaves or working with				The Indigenous Peoples Core Curriculum by
their specific “Amos”, and for very				Department of Education, Bureau of Alternative
apparent reason, if there are times that we				Learning System (BALS) Handouts 2006
don’t have food or meal of the day to offer
them, we would rather have an empty room				Lopez East District Alternative Learning System
than to have clienteles with empty stomachs.				Initial School Reports SY 2008-2009
· Aetas clienteles interact with the ALS program				Acknowledgements are given to the following
differently. Students learning style and mental				persons for the interviews, observation and other
capacity vary different from one another. Some				data gathered of which the researchers are
learn smoothly. Others need constant review. At				greatly indebted with.
the beginning level, it is common to see
Aeta-clienteles to misspell their names what is				MRS. ANGELINA J. OBLINA, Lopez East District
even the worse is that they sometimes forget				ALS Coordinator
their surname or they change their names.
· Few of their practices are still prevalent but				MRS. MARIVEL A. OBLINA, Instructional Manager
mostly are dead or forgotten. One Aeta client
even shares that they could no longer remember				MRS. WILMA S. CAPISTRANO, Instructional
any tribal rites taught to them by the elders. Still,				Manager
some of them wander and work from the				THIS MINI CASE STUDY, WHICH THE
community to nearby barangays. They don’t				RESEARCHERS CONSIDERED AS LABOR OF
permanently stay in one place, except of course				LOVE, IS IMPLICITLY DEDICATED TO THE
for those who have learned to fit in to the local				AETA COMMUNITY OF BRGY. VILA ESPINA,
villagers. What is quite pressing for us in relation to				LOPEZ, QUEZON. MAY YOU FLOURISH AND BE
their ways is that an early marriage is common				NOURISHED BY THE ALTERNATIVE LEARNING
thing. An Aeta could already find and live with his				SYSTEM OF LOPEZ EAST DISTRICT.
her partner at the age of 12. In addition, they

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Alternative Learning System for the Aeta Community: Equalizing Education to Cultural Minority Groups in Lopez, Quezon, Philippines

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