Ati tribe finds ally in Commission on indigenous people

MANILA, Philippines—The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) voiced support Thursday for the Ati tribe’s occupation of a piece of land on Boracay Island, rallying the locals and tourists to help the tribespeople reclaim a portion of their “lost paradise.”

NCIP chair Zenaida Brigida H. Pawid said the Ati could occupy the land because they had been issued a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) in August 2010.

“Boracay is theirs,’’ she said in an interview.  “They have the right to occupy because it is their ancestral domain. They should not be prohibited from taking possession of the area.’’

Pawid said the NCIP would issue a writ of possession on April 25, formally turning over to the Ati tribespeople a 2.1-hectare lot in Boracay’s Barangay Manoc-manoc, but acknowledged that the three other claimants could appeal this.

She confirmed that the writ would be a mere formality. “This will be enforced. Anybody who doesn’t respect that will have to go to court,’’ she said.

Ati chief Delsa Justo and tribe members occupied the land on the southern end of the 1,032 hectare Boracay Island last Tuesday, amid the construction of homes and widening of roads by the three claimants.

The claimants, citing prior possession of the land, had questioned the NCIP’s award of the title to the Ati in a local court in Kalibo, Aklan, and sought a cancellation. This has delayed the Ati’s’installation in their land.

Pawid said she could understand why the Ati occupied the land ahead of the issuance of the writ. “They just see the whole island disappearing before their own eyes. That should be what the Filipinos should look at,’’ she said.

Pawid appealed to the resort owners, residents and even the tourists to help the Ati peacefully get installed and find livelihood in their piece of land.

“The whole island of Boracay that has made millions should help them. Just help them make a livelihood for themselves. It’s a last stand,’’ she said. “Let’s help them find their place in a complex world.’’

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources identified the two-hectare land for the Ati, and this should hold, according to Pawid.

“Nobody can title that except them…. This is not a dispute about property. This is a fight for justice of the IPs,’’ she said. “It’s a paradise that they lost.  They have not held back. They have slowly and painfully retreated to two hectares. And the Republic of the Philippines can’t even give that?’’