Indigenous Filipino empowers through education

Norman King is the first Aeta to graduate from the University of the Philippines. This momentous accomplishment had been a long time coming, and getting there took Norman a ton of hard work and a bit of luck.

Challenges and inspiration

Born to an Aeta community at the foot of Mount Pinatubo in 1988, three years before the fatal and destructive volcanic eruption, Norman is the eldest of Roman and Warlita’s seven kids. Typical of lower and lower middle class families in the Philippines, the eldest child is expected to work at an early age to help provide for their family. So after finishing high school in Angeles, Pampanga, Norman took a job and started helping his family.

Apart from financial limitations, Norman also faced discrimination along the way. He said that Aetas are often depicted as uneducated, poor people living in the mountains. It’s common for Aetas to be called “baluga”, a degrading term for dark-skinned indigenous Filipinos, which Norman said their tribe disliked because it was so dehumanizing.

Eventually, Norman’s father decided to send him to Manila where he studied to become a computer technician. He also worked as a delivery boy and later on took a job at a business process outsourcing company.

Norman, however, soon realized that there are more important things for him to take care of. He left his corporate job and joined his father to help assert the rights of the Aetas over a part of their ancestral domain, where a Korean-owned resort has been built.

Goals and dreams for the Aeta community

Roman’s persistence and dedication in fighting for Aeta’s rights paid off, and with his knowledge and experience, he was often invited to speak about disaster risk management. It was in one of these gatherings when someone expressed their desire to help. Roman told this person that he wished for his son to go to university, and it was through this opportunity that Norman was able to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Behavioral Science.

The course wasn’t Norman’s first choice, but it certainly provided him so many opportunities — opportunities that he would want his fellow Aeta to have.

In his interview with UP Manila during his application, he said, “If it is required of us to study our own culture, I will do it. Because I want at the end of the day that they will hear our voice, that there is someone who could fight for our rights and be the voice of the many.”

Norman has defied the odds and challenges that his community faces day by day. And on his graduation ceremony, he proudly wore the Aeta’s traditional clothing, wiping out all the negative perceptions about his tribe.

Asked about his plans, Norman said that he would want to work with young generations, inspire them to strive more, and help them realize that what he has achieved so far is simply the beginning for any one of them.