THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has maintained its tough stance to cancel the certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) of Ati members in a 1,282-square meter property in Boracay Island, Antique.
“We must uphold the law relative to the issue of Ati in Boracay,” DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III said, adding the issuance of CLOAs to the 44 members of the Boracay Ati Tribal Association has no legal basis since the land they continue to occupy is not farmland.
“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,” he emphasized.
The second reason is that the period of issuing the notice of coverage of private lands had already expired last June 30, 2014, when 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. EO 75 is a Malacanang order directing all government agencies to identify government land that could be distributed to qualified beneficiaries,” the DAR chief noted.
The 44 tribal members then the subdivision of the 1,282-square meter property among themselves with each own of them owing only 30 square meters, “meaning the land is not suitable for agriculture,” DAR said in a statement.
Estrella, however, assured the indigenous peoples of a provision of government lands to the through EO 75.
Each member shall be given one hectare to three hectares of land, and provided with all assistance and support services, he said.
“We treat people with compassion, but we must uphold the law,” he cited.