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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Visayas devider Ati IP file cases vs Boracay land developer for eviction

Ati IP file cases vs Boracay land developer for eviction

Published May 2, 2026 01:30 pm
NATIVE Ati people from Boracay Island with former Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat Jr. after filing cases against a private land developer for evicting them. (Boracay Ati)
NATIVE Ati people from Boracay Island with former Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat Jr. after filing cases against a private land developer for evicting them. (Boracay Ati)
ILOILO CITY – The Ati Indigenous Peoples (IPs) living on Boracay Island have filed cases against a private developer that allegedly evicted them from land given to them by the Duterte administration in 2018.
The Asosasyon ng Boracay Ati Tribal Organization (ABATO) filed separate complaints against JECO Development Corp. on April 29.
Led by chieftain Delsa Justo, ABATO filed an injunction to stop JECO Development from barricading portions of the 1,282-square-meter land and asked the court to return physical access to the area where they have homes.
ABATO also filed complaints of trespassing and grave coercion and sought P2 million in moral and exemplary damages after they were barred from entering the area last February by guards of JECO Development.
These are the latest in the land dispute that started in 2024 following the decision of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Western Visayas to revoke land given to the Ati people when soil analysis found it was not suitable for farming.
President Rodrigo Duterte gave land for farming to the Ati people part of his administration’s massive rehabilitation of Boracay.
But DAR’s revocation of the Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) paved the way for private claimants, including JECO Development, to evict the Ati people.
ABATO last March 16 called on President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to order DAR to return the land to them.
Former Ifugao Rep. and IP figure Teddy Baguilat Jr.
accompanied ABATO during the filing.
“The Ati (people) – the first people of Panay, of Boracay – have always been discriminated (against), oppressed, vilified, and misunderstood. They really just want a place they can call their own, to be allowed to enjoy their life in the island they call their home,” said Baguilat.

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