SHANGRI-LA EDSA, Mandaluyong City — Music enthusiasts had moments of nostalgia with the classical performance of folksinger-composer Noel Cabangon at the benefit concert for the Agtas of Aurora province at the EDSA Shangri-la in Mandalyuyong City.

Commonly referred to as Negritos, Agtas do belong to the Negrito ethnolinguistic group. There are many Agta tribes, scattered over Regions I to V in the island of Luzon. The Casiguran Dumagat Agtas can be found on the eastern coast of Aurora Province in Central Luzon Region.

Aurora is a coastal province of Central Luzon region in the Philippines. Little is known about the province due to its remoteness, but its capital is known for its surfing scene and the province has one of the largest expanses of rainforest spared from development and also has hidden beaches and mountains.

In this pristine region, the Agta people live in simple ways, barely noticing the fast developments in the urbanized centers of the country and left alone due to their remoteness and noticeably uncared for and neglected-if not ignored and discriminated-by government and so-called civilized society.

But the Agtas have long suffered throughout the 20th century from several factors and concerns that they have experienced, among them harassment from outsiders, human rights abuses, exploitation, takeovers of their ancestral lands and even murder and kidnapping.

And these are compounded by the fact they lack modern education and are in desperate need of the knowledge of the sciences, particularly in agriculture and fisheries, and health services that should be provided to them under their constitutional right as citizens of our Republic.

With this in mind, Awit sa Pag-Ibig at Pag-Asa was conceptualized by Stone of Hope and partner Phebie Jame and Artemio Dy as a fund-raiser for the Sentrong Paaralan ng mga Agta. In general, the benefit concert for the Agtas aims to acquire much-needed funding for projects that are to be implemented to help them in acquiring scholarships for education in vocational training and the putting up schools as well as establishing medical and health facilities such as clinics to provide them important healthcare services.

Targeted, too, is to gain the involvement and participation of the general population, especially the private and public sectors, to instigate action to conserve and protect the culture and integrity of the Agta communities.

Specifically, the concert also promotes the principles of conservation and protection of the country’s culture and heritage through assistance programs in indegenous peoples (IPs) like the Agtas; empower individuals and groups, including private and public organizations and agencies to participate in initiatives to value our IPs; and inculcate a sense of protectiveness and care for all peoples through information dissemination and education and community activities.