The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has committed to provide up to three hectares of land for the Ati Tribal Association members in Boracay Island.

Members of the Ati Tribal Association are facing eviction from the land awarded to them by the past administration through Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) in Boracay Island.

But DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella said that the land awarded to them was not suitable for farming and that there was no basis to award CLOAs to the Ati members. 

“We treat people with compassion, but we must uphold the law relative to the issue of Ati in Boracay,” said Estrella said in a press conference held after the distribution of CLOAs in Negros Occidental.

In supporting his arguments, Estrella provided three reasons why the CLOAs awarded to the Ati members are not valid.

First, he said that the Bureau of Soils and Water Management under the Department of Agriculture declared the landholding not suitable for agriculture which should be exempted from DAR coverage under Republic Act 6657, or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

Second, Estrella said the period of issuing the notice of coverage of private lands had already expired last June 30, 2014, when the DAR issued the CLOAs to the Ati in 2018.

“Third, they cannot invoke Executive Order 75 here because it is not even government-owned land since there is a legitimate claimant. Executive Order 75 is a Malacanang order directing all government agencies to identify government land that could be distributed to qualified beneficiaries,” said Estrella.

He noted that the 44 members of the Boracay Ati Tribal Association preferred the subdivision of the 1,282 square meter property among themselves, so they each own about 30 square meters, meaning the land is not suitable for agriculture.

Estrella, however, said that DAR will not only provide about one to three hectares of land but also provide the Ati members with all assistance and support services.