About

Mission

To provide food, particularly milk for poverty stricken Aeta children, and to provide livelihood opportunities for their families, who have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.

Vision

No Aeta child in Capas, Tarlac who should suffer from malnutrition. They should have the opportunity to go to school with the help of Government Livelihood Projects that will respect the Aetas’ beliefs, traditions, and culture, and lift their lives from poverty. Aetas should be accepted and integrated into Philippine society as equal citizens. The world can become more aware of the plight of the Aetas in Capas, Tarlac, while we network with other NGOs to alleviate these problems.

How It All Started...

Our work began with the fortuitous confluence of two like-minded individuals who were deeply moved by the sad plight of the Aetas.

One was a kind-hearted, hard-working, visionary young accountant from Capas, Tarlac. His name is Rom Calingasan, Jr. He had heard of the plight of the Aeta children, who were suffering from hunger during the pandemic lockdown. He resolved that no child should go hungry, and used his own resources to buy food—milk in particular—for the Aeta children. He started a grassroots movement and called it SHARE THE LOVE CAPAS, which later became AETA AKO, PILIPINO AKO INC. He looked for milk donations and recruited volunteers to help him deliver the milk to the Aetas in Capas.

A young, talented, multi-awarded business reporter from the eminent Philippine Daily Inquirer heard about the good work that Rom Calingasan was doing with the Aetas. It piqued his curiosity and he thought of working on it as a human interest story. The reporter, Miguel Camus, decided to do an interview with Rom and ended up writing a moving piece on the plight of the Aetas, showing how their lives had been made worse by the lockdown and how the Aeta children suffered from hunger and the threat of malnutrition. Camus wanted to give a voice to the Aetas, who were crying for help.

The convergence of their efforts led to a concrete and viable movement now known as AETA AKO, PILIPINO AKO INC. Rom Calingasan is now the President of AETA AKO PILIPINO AKO INC., while Miguel Camus serves as its Secretary.

Foundation Milestones

On March 28, 2020, two weeks after lockdown was first declared, SHARE THE LOVE CAPAS was formed to give milk to hungry Aeta children in the area. Why did our organization start with providing milk for children? We believe that among the members of the community, they are the most vulnerable and the most in need. At first, our organization helped only nearby neighbors. But it became clear that the children of the remote Aeta communities in Capas suffered twice as much, because of their distance from public areas and civic organizations.

With the organization’s growth over the past year, we have moved to register it with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the name AETA AKO, PILIPINO AKO INCORPORATED. With this name, we want to declare to the world that the indigenous Aetas are Filipinos who should not be neglected, treated equally and without discrimination.

A Message From our President

The emergence of our organization in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought smiles and hope to the young Aetas and their families in Capas, Tarlac.

We have come a long way. Thanks to our coordinated efforts, we have brought food and basic necessities to the Aetas, whose movement has been considerably limited by the pandemic. However, we hope to do more than send relief goods and powdered milk to the Aetas. We dream of launching livelihood projects that will provide them with tools and help them to develop the skills and knowledge they need to make their own community prosperous.

We greatly appreciate the time, effort, resources, and love you have generously given to support this cause. We hope that you will continue to be our partners in making our mission and dreams for the Aetas a reality.

Thank you very much!