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[av_heading heading=’More vagrant Aetas, Badjaos rounded up’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY BOY RYAN ZABAL
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BORACAY – More vagrant Badjaos and Aetas in the island resort have been rescued by authorities.
They found the natives dwelling at the Bulabog beach, D’Mall de Boracay and E Mall in barangays Ambulong and Manoc-manoc.
Among those rescued were 31 Badjaos, 14 of whom were children, from 11 families and two Aeta families.
The indigenous people were taken to the Crisis Intervention Unit in Barangay Argao in mainland Malay, said Senior Police Officer 1 Christopher Mendoza, police-community relations chief of the Boracay Tourist Assistance Center (BTAC).
“The two-hour operation on Sept. 21 ended around 4 a.m.,” Mendoza said. “The rescued Aetas and Badjaos were from Zamboanga and Sulu.”
Considered illegal settlers in the island, the indigenous people were urged to return to their hometowns and start a new life.
“We need help from the authorities in their places of origin so we could send them back properly,” said Mendoza.
The Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) in Malay, the Municipal Auxiliary Police in the island, the Bantay Dagat, the local government of Malay, and the barangay tanods in Manoc-manoc helped in “Oplan Sagip.”
This was not the first time the authorities in the island searched for and rounded up vagrant Badjaos and Aetas.
Fifty Aetas were rounded up on April 12 and another 30 Badjaos and Aetas on April 21. Mendicancy is illegal in Boracay.
Mendoza said the indigenous peoples hide every time there is an operation.
“The MSWDO is looking for them. We were informed some of them were living in boardinghouses,” he said.
Authorities were still verifying information that these Badjaos and Aetas were backed by syndicates. (Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
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