Some 521 Aeta families in Barangay Maruglo, Capas, Tarlac have received farming implements from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to help them become economically stable and prevent them from migrating to urban centers to beg especially during the Christmas Season.

“Itong community na ito, tinutulungan natin sa farm inputs nila, may mga kuliglig at tractors na maliliit. Bahagi ito ng Pag-abot program natin, kasi ang gusto nga natin ang mga indigenous communities natin hindi sila na-eexploit pagdating sa Pasko at hindi sila pinapapunta sa Maynila, para mamalimos sa mga kalsada, sa mga lansangan (We are helping this community with farm inputs, like hand tractors. This is part of our Pag-abot program, to prevent our indigenous communities from being exploited during Christmas, when they beg in the streets),” DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said on Thursday as he handed over the farming tools to the Aeta beneficiaries.

The Pag-abot program provides short- term and long-term interventions for families and individuals in street situations (FISS) to help them get off the streets and have a sustained and dignified lives.

In his July 2025 State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr emphasized the need to reach out to the FISS as they are the most vulnerable and have the most urgent need for assistance.

Last year, the Department’s Pag-Abot program was able to reach out to members of the Indigenous Peoples (IP) sector, like the Aetas from Barangay Marulog, who went to the National Capital Region (NCR) to beg during the holidays.

They were immediately returned to Barangay Maruglo and through the case management of DSWD’s social workers, the Pag-abot program committed to providing them with carabaos for their farm work.

The DSWD chief, together with Pag-abot Director Marilyn Moral, turned over 50 carabaos to the Aeta community in addition to the 91 already provided in 2024.

“Itong si Boyong (name of carabao), isa sa mga 141 na mga kalabaw na naturn-over na ng DSWD sa Aeta community natin dito sa Capas (Boyong is just one of the 141 carabaos that the DSWD turned over to the Aeta community here in Capas),” Gatchalian said.

Aside from the Aetas rescued by the Pag-abot, the Department also learned that more than 500 other Aeta households in Barangay Maruglo are farmers.

Utilizing the community-driven development approach of the DSWD’s Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS), the community was organized to empower them in identifying interventions that would also benefit the other Aeta households.

Through the convergence of the Pag-abot program and the KALAHI-CIDSS, additional farm tools were given to the Aeta community in Barangay Maruglo.

Aside from the carabaos, the DSWD chief handed over 10 hand-tractors with trailers, nine mini-tiller cultivators, 10 grass-cutters, 10 water pumps, 33 knapsack sprayers, six power sprayers, four mini palay threshers, and three rice mills.

According to the DSWD Secretary, the assistance provided to the Capas Aeta community is part of the Department’s comprehensive intervention to empower the IP sector.

Gatchalian added that it is done in other areas of the country where there is a concentration of indigenous people, like in Zamboanga for the Badjao community.

Cora Cosme Gonzales, 37 years old and one of the Pag-abot program beneficiaries who received a carabao in 2024 expressed her gratitude to the program.

Cora shared that life was indeed hard as they had to plant in the mountainous area near Mt. Pinatubo.

“Kalabaw po at gariton (cart) po ang naibigay sa amin. Kaya pasalamat po kami dahil umabot po yung tulong sa amin, kasi nuon po kaya nakiki-pasko po kami dahil nahihirapan po kami para makatanim po kami sa bundok, para mayroon kaming pagkain (We were given a carabao and a cart. We are very thankful because the government assistance has reached us. We always go to the cities during Christmas because life is hard, so that we can plant in the mountains and have something to eat),” Cora narrated.

The carabao helped Cora and her family in making planting easier for them, bringing their produce safely to buyers.

The DSWD works closely with the local government unit (LGU) of Capas, Tarlac, in reaching out and monitoring the progress of the Aeta community.

Implemented in 2023, the Pag-abot Program was institutionalized in 2024 through Executive Order (EO) No. 52. (PNA)