Ati Community to Stage Protest at DAR-WV Over Illegal Cancelation of Land Titles .

Boracay Island, Aklan — March 16, 2024 — Members of the Ati indigenous community of Boracay Island gathered in front of the Regional Office of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) on March 16, 2024 to demand urgent government intervention and accountability over what they describe as the unlawful implementation of an order canceling their Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs).

The protest comes after recent attempts to enforce the cancellation of CLOA 2 and CLOA 5, which cover lands awarded to Ati agrarian reform beneficiaries. These lands are currently being claimed by private parties, including Digna Ventura and Jeco Corporation. Members of the Ati community report that fences have already been installed around portions of the disputed land by security guards of the claimants, restricting the community’s access to areas they have long occupied and cultivated.

According to the Boracay Ati Tribal Organization, the enforcement actions are premature and illegal because the decision being cited as the basis for the cancellation is not yet final and executory. No writ of execution has been issued to authorize the removal of the Ati beneficiaries from their awarded land.

“The Ati people have protected and lived on this land long before Boracay became a global tourism destination. What is happening now threatens not only our rights as agrarian reform beneficiaries but also our dignity and survival as indigenous people,” community representatives said.

The Ati community is therefore calling on the government to take immediate action and ensure that the rule of law and the rights of indigenous peoples are upheld.

Specifically, the Ati community demands that the government:

Direct the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to immediately stop the illegal implementation of the cancellation of CLOA 2 and CLOA 5 belonging to the Ati, which are being claimed by Digna Ventura and Jeco Corporation, respectively;

Remove the fences installed by the guards of the illegal claimants and peacefully restore possession of the areas to the Ati CLOA holders;

Conduct an investigation and impose appropriate penalties on officials of the DAR and other individuals involved in the illegal revocation and enforcement actions against the Ati’s CLOAs;

Issue a clear and public order stating that the decision is not yet final and that no writ of execution has been issued, to prevent further harassment and displacement of the Ati beneficiaries.

The Boracay Ati Tribal Organization is also urging national authorities to ensure the protection of agrarian reform beneficiaries and indigenous peoples from unlawful dispossession.

Copies of the Ati community’s formal complaint have already been submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in order to secure immediate attention and intervention.

For the Ati community, the dispute goes far beyond legal technicalities. It is about survival, justice, and the long-overdue recognition of the rights of the island’s original inhabitants.