We must uphold the law on Ati tribe members’ issue – Estrella

“We must uphold the law relative to the issue of Ati in Boracay,” Agrarian Secretary Conrado M. Estrella III said during a press conference held after the distribution of Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) in Negros Occidental.

He emphasized that there is no basis for awarding the CLOAs to the members of the Boracay Ati Tribal Association.

“First, 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,” Estrella said.

The second reason, Estrella said, is that 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 a government-owned land since there is a legitimate claimant.