Indigenous Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic 61 The beneficiaries of the 4Ps (conditional cash transfer) Program were also able to avail of their monthly cash benefit from the DSWD. There are 195 4Ps beneficiaries in Barangay Camias. After the benefits have been availed, the community leaders initiated a community effort to help non-4Ps beneficiaries. In the spirit of community solidarity, the 4Ps members contributed Php 100 each (in cash or in kind) and generated about Php 20,000 worth of basic commodities which they distributed to the non-4Ps beneficiaries. According to community leader Violeta Abuque, this may seem a very small contribution, but it definitely shows solidarity and the community’s capacity to look after their own welfare. Lastly, while only 40 families were officially listed to benefit from the communal farming program of DA, the Ayta Mag-indi collectively decided that the produce and harvest from the program will be made available to all IP families in the barangay. In Katutubo Village, basic commodities, including rice, sardines, and instant noodles, were procured and were equally distributed to the community members. The leaders have also allocated some supplies for a children’s feeding activity, which they thought was a way to show and keep solidarity despite prescribed social distancing. They have provided a counterpart to the whole initiative by providing for the transportation (for procurement) and the other ingredients and supplies needed for the feeding activity. It is also fortunate that the community received assistance from other partner institutions and individuals, which include a program of the Ateneo de Manila University that gave cash donations endorsed to and handled by the tribal council and a town councilor and a private individual who also distributed rice (in small plastic containers, amount undetermined) to the IP community. Early on, the DSWD distributed water containers (of five gallons) to the IP families. Finally, realizing the negative impact of the non-inclusive process of SAP implementation, the whole community of Katutubo Village decided and agreed among themselves to equally divide among all Ayta families the benefits they received from the program. While this meant each family receiving only a small amount of Php 1,625 (instead of the full Php 6,500), everyone accepted the redistribution of benefits, so each family somehow is able to avail of assistance no matter how small the amount. Further marginalization and widening of societal divide The insensitivity to the needs of the Ayta Mag-indi community manifests in the government programs discussed above. This, in many ways, reinforces discrimination experienced by the indigenous community. Further discrimination also occurred with the spread of misinformation on the pandemic. Early into the pandemic, the non-Aytas of Pampanga were reportedly spreading the rumor that COVID-19 came from the indigenous peoples as they too