by: Boy Ryan B. Zabal
Aetas in Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan continue hoping that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will fulfill her promise to provide them with a conducive resettlement area.
Sr. Victoria Ostan of the Holy Rosary Parish Ati Mission said the President has promised to relocate the Atis to a one-hectare property owned by “Taytay sa Kauswagan “and Boracay Property Holdings, Inc. However, the proposed relocation site is facing legal problems in terms of the deed of donation of the property for the 40 Ati families, according to Ostan.
“She (Arroyo) donated 60 huts during her April 15, 2005 visit in Boracay, but we want a permanent resettlement site in the island where our indigenous people could start living in peace and security,” Ostan pointed out.
The Atis, according to Sr. Ostan, will be relocated in the P50-million relocation site, which forms part of the declared tourism zone of the government within the 80-hectare Eco-Tourism village in Brgy. Yapak, Boracay Island.
“Although the local government of Malay purchased a 74-hectare relocation site in Brgy. Cogon, we foresee that if the Atis settled in the mainland Malay, we deprive them their right to live in the island where they have been living since time immemorial,” Ostan pointed out.
Ostan stressed the government should recognize that the Atis are protected and guaranteed to stay under the Indigenous Peoples Act (Republic Act 8371) amid fears of eviction by adjacent property owners where their settlement site is located.
“But if the time comes that government still fail to assist the Atis of Boracay, we are proposing to buy a portion of a land in the island through the help of some sectors rather than wait for false promises of the officials,” Ostan said.
According to her, they have filed an application for the issuance of a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title over the 1,032-hectare resort island on December 15, 2001 and asked the support of the Episcopal Commission on Indigenous People (ECIP) of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to help them process the title. /MP mailto:madyaas_pen@yahoo.com
Aetas in Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan continue hoping that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will fulfill her promise to provide them with a conducive resettlement area.
Sr. Victoria Ostan of the Holy Rosary Parish Ati Mission said the President has promised to relocate the Atis to a one-hectare property owned by “Taytay sa Kauswagan “and Boracay Property Holdings, Inc. However, the proposed relocation site is facing legal problems in terms of the deed of donation of the property for the 40 Ati families, according to Ostan.
“She (Arroyo) donated 60 huts during her April 15, 2005 visit in Boracay, but we want a permanent resettlement site in the island where our indigenous people could start living in peace and security,” Ostan pointed out.
The Atis, according to Sr. Ostan, will be relocated in the P50-million relocation site, which forms part of the declared tourism zone of the government within the 80-hectare Eco-Tourism village in Brgy. Yapak, Boracay Island.
“Although the local government of Malay purchased a 74-hectare relocation site in Brgy. Cogon, we foresee that if the Atis settled in the mainland Malay, we deprive them their right to live in the island where they have been living since time immemorial,” Ostan pointed out.
Ostan stressed the government should recognize that the Atis are protected and guaranteed to stay under the Indigenous Peoples Act (Republic Act 8371) amid fears of eviction by adjacent property owners where their settlement site is located.
“But if the time comes that government still fail to assist the Atis of Boracay, we are proposing to buy a portion of a land in the island through the help of some sectors rather than wait for false promises of the officials,” Ostan said.
According to her, they have filed an application for the issuance of a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title over the 1,032-hectare resort island on December 15, 2001 and asked the support of the Episcopal Commission on Indigenous People (ECIP) of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to help them process the title. /MP mailto:madyaas_pen@yahoo.com
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