House committee backs claim of Boracay Ati community
BORACAY ISLAND—The House committee on national cultural communities is backing the appeal of the Ati community here to have a permanent land of their own on the island.
Members of the committee who conducted an inspection on the community and held a dialogue with stakeholders on Sunday said they will support the call for the designation of an area on the island as a permanent relocation site for around 44 Ati families or around 200 persons.
Benguet Rep. Samuel Dangwa, committee chair, said they will support the call for President Macapagal-Arroyo to issue a proclamation creating a reservation for the Atis on the island.
The committee conducted the inspection and dialogue after the House passed a resolution to investigate the displacement of the Atis because of development projects on the island.
The resolution was filed by Bayan Muna Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño, Gabriela Representatives Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan and Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano.
Anthropologists have backed up claims that the Atis were the earliest settlers on the 1,032-hectare island but were displaced and driven away especially starting in the 1970s when the beauty of the island became known and attracted tourists.
The Ati families have been living in a one-hectare lot in Sitio Bulabog in Barangay Balabag, one of the three villages of the island-resort.
But they have repeatedly faced threats of eviction from the community which is situated in adjoining lots separately owned by the families of Aklan Rep. Florencio Miraflores and Aniceto Yap.
The Atis have applied for a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) on Feb. 23, 2000 before the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to prevent their ejection from the land.
The NCIP is supporting the community's preference to transfer to a 2-hectare lot also in Barangay Balabag. The area is near the beach and would be suitable for fishing, one of the main sources of livelihood of the community.
Myrna Caoagas, director of the NCIP Ancestral Domain Office, said that if the presidential proclamation will be issued, the proposed relocation site will be titled in the name of the Ati community and will be owned communally .
Rep. Ilagan said development on the island should not be at the stake of the indigenous people's community and they should at all times be considered in programs and plans.
Socorro Ruchanie Gadon, chair of the the Boracay Land Owners and Stakeholders Movement, said in the dialogue that they support the giving of land to the Atis because the community has been part of the history of island. But she said government should also ensure that the rights of investors especially land claimants will be respected.
The Supreme last October upheld a presidential proclamation declaring most of the island as public land. But this is being contested by land claimants and property owners.
Undersecretary Virtus Gil, chair of the presidential task force on Boracay, said they would need at least P5 million to put up 45 houses for the Ati families and for the Holy Rosary Parish Ati Mission (HRPAM).
The HRPAM, put up by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent De Paul in 2000, has been helping the Atis to acquire a permanent residential land in the island.
The houses would be from 50-80 square meters and would cost around P100,000 each, said Gil.
He said the total cost including the setting up of septic tanks and other facilities would reach around P10 million.
Sr. Victoria Ustan of the HRPAM said welcomed the support of the agencies and stakeholders.
"We hope that after being promised several times in the past, the Atis would finally have a place of their own," Ustan said in an interview.
Delsa Justo, president of the Bolabog Ati Tribal Council, said they the presidential proclamation and the setting up of the reservation will be done soon.
"We cannot sleep peacefully until where are sure that our children and the succeeding generations of our community will have a place where we cannot be driven away anymore," said Justo.