By HENRY EMPEÑO |

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Magbukun Ayta tribe, which claims ownership of the land where a shooting range is being constructed for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, has thrown its full support to the project, calling it a source of tribal pride.

In a press conference called by the Magbukun tribal council with the assistance of the Subic Indigenous Peoples Assistance Group (SIPAG) on Monday, Ayta leaders urged groups who opposed the project to stop making an issue about its location in a protected area.

 

“Ipinagmamalaki po namin na ang bahagi ng aming ancestral domain ay ginagamit para sa pagdaraos ng SEA Games (We are proud that part of our ancestral land is used for the SEA Games),” said Joseph Salonga, who is Magbukun tribal vice-chieftain.

“Masaya po kami na mayroon kaming ambag sa kaganapan (We are happy to contribute to this event),” he added.

The tribal leaders also asked the public to respect their decision to allow the project. “Patahimikin na po natin ang isyu. Huwag ninyong alisin sa amin ang pagkakataong ito (Please stop making an issue about this. Do not take this pride away from us),” Salonga also said.

Salonga, along with tribal chief Belinda Restom and eight other Magbukun officials and elders, also issued a statement pointing out that the former Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) area where the shooting range is being built is part of the tribe’s ancestral domain.

They said the Magbukun tribe has been chosen to implement a conservation and sustainable development plan for the area under a United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

“Patuloy ang mga katutubo sa pagkalinga ng gubat dahil ito ay pamana sa aming lipi (The indigenous people continue to protect the forest because it is our inheritance),” said Restom.

The Magbukun tribe clarified their position after officials of the Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium Inc. (SBMEI), operator of the Ocean Adventure marine park, raised questions about the SEA Games project and criticized the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) for its “failure in stewardship of the Subic Freeport’s environmental assets.”

News reports quoting the SBMEI and the Save Subic Bay Coalition (SSBC) claimed that “a protected area in the (Subic) Freeport had been cleared to give way to a shooting range.”

Salonga, however, stressed that the EOD is an area where the US Navy used to explode bombs and bullets which were for disposal. He said that because of this kind of activity, there was no heavy vegetation in the area.

The Ayta official also affirmed that what was cleared during the project construction consisted mostly of grass and secondary growth of ipil-ipil and guava trees, and the three gubas trees that the SBMA Ecology Center had permitted for cutting.

He also said the Magbukuns did not make an issue out of the SEA Games project because they knew that it was located in an area set by the tribe for recreation and multi-purpose use.

Tribal leaders, along with SIPAG officials, visited the project site last Sunday and noted the development taking place.

“Naaayon ito sa aming conservation plan na patayuan ng isang pasilidad pang-turismo ang naturang lugar (It agrees with our plan to put up a tourism facility there),” Salonga said.

Earlier, SBMA Ecology Center manager Amethya dela Llana pointed out that while the construction project is within a protected area, the location is no longer classified as forest land.

She described reports saying that a forest has been destroyed to make way for the said SEAG project as “a very irresponsible assertion that makes a mockery of truth.”

 

TOP PHOTO: The ongoing construction at the EOD area will be for a shooting range to be used in the 30th Southeast Asian Games (Photo by Jun Dumaguing)