ILOILO CITY – Five years after the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte implemented a land reform program in Boracay in 2018, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has issued a resolution that land on the world-famous resort-island is not suitable for farming.
CHILDREN from the indigenous group Ati play on the white-sand beach of Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan province. (Tara Yap)
Sheila Enciso, DAR-Western Visayas director, issued four separate resolutions that agreed with the protests filed by land owners Digna Elizabeth Ventura and three private developers against the land given by the government to the Ati indigenous people and long-time residents. “The resolution is not final yet. The resolution does not cancel the Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) yet,” said Geony Licera-Gregorio, chief of the DAR-6 Legal Assistance Division. Gregorio said that the resolution stemmed from the protests filed by Ventura and the three private developers. The protesters asked for a technical validation of the land given by the government to Boracay Ati Tribal Organization (BATO) and long-time residents collectively known as Boracay Tumandok. The resolution was based on the soil testing conducted by the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA). “The tests results showed that the area is not suitable for agricultural production,” Gregorio said. Duterte’s Boracay land reform program was part of his administration’s massive plan to rehabilitate the country’s most famous beach destination. At that time, Duterte announced that the land were to be given to “farmers.” The Boracay Ati has filed a motion for reconsideration on the CLOAs issued to them. Gregorio said Boracay Tumandok did not file a motion for reconsideration. Of the 1,032-hectare island, 628.96 hectares have been declared alienable and disposable land while 377.68 hectares were classified as forestland.
CHILDREN from the indigenous group Ati play on the white-sand beach of Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan province. (Tara Yap)
Sheila Enciso, DAR-Western Visayas director, issued four separate resolutions that agreed with the protests filed by land owners Digna Elizabeth Ventura and three private developers against the land given by the government to the Ati indigenous people and long-time residents. “The resolution is not final yet. The resolution does not cancel the Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) yet,” said Geony Licera-Gregorio, chief of the DAR-6 Legal Assistance Division. Gregorio said that the resolution stemmed from the protests filed by Ventura and the three private developers. The protesters asked for a technical validation of the land given by the government to Boracay Ati Tribal Organization (BATO) and long-time residents collectively known as Boracay Tumandok. The resolution was based on the soil testing conducted by the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA). “The tests results showed that the area is not suitable for agricultural production,” Gregorio said. Duterte’s Boracay land reform program was part of his administration’s massive plan to rehabilitate the country’s most famous beach destination. At that time, Duterte announced that the land were to be given to “farmers.” The Boracay Ati has filed a motion for reconsideration on the CLOAs issued to them. Gregorio said Boracay Tumandok did not file a motion for reconsideration. Of the 1,032-hectare island, 628.96 hectares have been declared alienable and disposable land while 377.68 hectares were classified as forestland.