Libjo, Batangas

The Badjaos. The indigenous tribe of the Philippine’s southern region. Known for their huts on stilts, deep-sea way of living, and defenders of the southern seas. Victims of displacement as a result of the war between the government and local rebels over a decade ago. Hundreds of miles from their home, this particular tribe found their way to Batangas. Settling on a 1,500sqm piece of land donated by a local Samaritan. Spearheading the effort for these people to start and continue a new way of living is Rev. Alberto Santiago. Together with his family, Santiago has given The Badjaos the opportunity to rise up from poverty through education, beliefs and preserving traditions.

Most obvious as we entered this land are the opened arms and bright smiles welcoming us. One of the most appreciative community we’ve helped, they were visibly happy with our visit. With music blasting, they graced us with their traditional dance on modern tunes. Mostly women: mothers, sisters and aunts raising the family as the men were out for a week or two selling various goods in the city. They enjoyed our company. They had fun playing our games.They appreciated every gifts we brought. The showed us reasons to come back and visit them again.

Special thanks to the Santiago Family and the Born Again Badjao Church for having us be part of their day and their community. Thank you for helping the Badjaos.

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We would like to thank De La Salle University for funding this outreach through their donation earlier this year. With their help, we fed the kids of this community with Angel’s cheeseburgers and Zesto fruit drinks. Each family was provided 4 kilos of rice and a full bag of groceries. Games and prizes were provided as well, enjoyed by both kids and adults. This is the first of two outreach sponsored by DLSU SHS thanks to their class fundraiser.

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Magsukol! Maraming salamat po!