NESTOR ROTAQUIO

Tatay Nestor Rotaquio is a farmer and fisherfolk. He has served for many years as a chieftain of his community in Brgy. San Marcelino, General Nakar. He served as his community’s representative when the Pacific Coast City project threatened to privatize and seize the sacred cave of the indigenous peoples.

Tatay Nestor also participated during the 2016 “Lakbayan ng Pambansang Minorya at Moro” where Tatay Nestor was appointed as part of the council of Dumagat leaders and vice chair for external affairs. In 2019, he was appointed as the spokesperson of the “Dumagat-Sierra Madre sa Timog Katagalugan” (DSM) alliance. He dedicated many years to serving as the chieftain of his community in Udlian, where he employed traditional land plowing methods known as sahod-ulan and tirelessly defended the natural flow of rivers and the surrounding environment. To this day, he is highly respected as an elder chieftain for his wisdom among his fellow indigenous people. He is a champion for the welfare of his community and has never committed any grave offenses, betrayals, or colluded to surrender their ancestral land, even after the local government declared the Tulaog Cave as public property.

Tatay Nestor also actively participates in the Tulaog Fiesta. He also established and mobilized the organization that exposed the anti-people and environmentally destructive projects like mega dams, mining in Mount Tulaog, and grandiose agro-industrial and eco-tourism projects that displaced the natives who are the true protectors of the natural resources of the Sierra Madre, which itself supports their existence. The growth of the organization built by the indigenous people has been hindered by the unending militarization in the heart, slopes, and foothills of the Sierra Madre mountain range. Tatay Nestor was appointed as the chief spokesperson of the DSM alliance. He also met with Dr. Ian Fry, the former UN Special Rapporteur on climate change, during his country visit on November 2023.