Protesters hold up a copy of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) during the historic unified rally in Sitio Calanat, Barangay O’Donnell, Capas, Tarlac on July 14. The communities cite the law and their long‑standing ancestral ties to the land as they call for formal dialogue with authorities over strict restrictions within the Colonel Ernesto Ravina Air Base reservation.
Tarlac Human Rights office
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CAPAS, Tarlac — Residents who staged their first unified protest on Tuesday, 14 July, said their families had lived, farmed, and maintained ancestral ties to the area long before the establishment of the Colonel Ernesto Ravina Air Base (CERAB) and its declaration as a military reservation.
More than 3,000 residents from the barangays of Santa Juliana, Maruglo, Bueno, O'Donnell, and Santa Lucia gathered in Sitio Calanat, Barangay O'Donnell, to protest movement restrictions they said have disrupted their daily lives and livelihoods.
"The Air Force came later. We were already here," Capas Mayor Roseller "Boots" Rodriguez said, echoing the rally's central message. "We respect that this is a military reservation for national defense. What we ask is simple: recognize that our people are not newcomers here."
Protest leaders, including indigenous elders and long-time settlers, said formal proclamations reserving the 17,847-hectare area for military use were issued only after their communities had already been established.
They said strict checkpoint policies have prevented farmers from accessing their fields, delayed deliveries of essential goods, and disrupted livelihoods that predate the military reservation.
Residents also said repeated appeals since 2015 have yet to result in clear written guidelines recognizing their longstanding residency.
"We are not against the military training here," resident Elsa Pabor said. "We only want to live normally in the place our ancestors passed down to us."
Local officials and residents called on the Department of National Defense and the Philippine Air Force to begin formal dialogue, saying discussions should recognize prior residency and ancestral ties while balancing the area's security requirements with the rights of long-established communities.
