Displaced Atis in Boracay to get land from DAR
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) will allocate government-owned land (GOL) to 44 Ati individuals from Boracay who were displaced when a collective Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) issued by the previous administration was canceled.
The allocation of land was ordered by Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado estrella III. DAR Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Napoleon U. Galit stated said estrella issued the directive immediately after the owners of the 1,282 square meter land, which the Atis, all members of the Boracay Ati Tribal Organization (BATO), had been occupying, reclaimed the property on March 26.
estrella expressed serious concern over the displacement of the Ati individuals, who were among the indigenous peoples granted CLOAS during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“DAR will extend all assistance and support services to all our agrarian reform beneficiaries, but we must uphold the law,” said Galit.
The 44 BATO members preferred the subdivision of the 1,282 square meter property among themselves, thus, giving them only about 30 square meters each to own.
however, estrella wants the affected Atis to get back to farming by giving them their own agricultural land to cultivate, according to Galit.
Records of the case indicated that Digna elizabeth Ventura, whose property covered the 1,282 sqm of land occupied by the BATO members, filed a protest on April 10, 2019, against the inclusion of her property in the CLOA granted to the BATO members in 2018.
In 2020, the Dar-regional Office 6 archived the case after ordering Ventura to show a soil analysis test regarding the suitability of the questioned land for agricultural purposes.
In 2023, Ventura presented a certification issued by the Agricultural Land Management and evaluation Division of the Bureau of Soils under the Department of Agriculture, confirming that the subject land is “not suitable for agriculture.”
Acting on the DA findings, DARRO-6 Regional Director Sheila B. enciso upheld the protest filed by Ventura on March 15, 2023.
enciso also directed the property claimant to file an application for CLOA cancellation before the Office of the Secretary.
Galit said that the Office of the Secretary, in a March 5, 2024 order, issued a final order of CLOA cancellation as it noted that the 44 claimants failed to show proof that would invalidate the DA certification that the questioned land is not suitable for agriculture.
“The petitioners representing BATO were unable to present any controverting evidence that would have prompted us to overrule the DARRO’S ruling. They lacked evidence to support their claim of occupancy of the area covered by the CLOA.”
Galit also said the filing of the motion for reconsideration was in default.
Farm machines
DAR also said its office in South Cotabato turned over farm machinery worth P300,000 to the Traankini Farmers Association (TKFA) in Brgy. Lamlahak, Lake Sebu.
The farm machinery includes 2 units of abaca stripping machine, 10 units of 2-in-1 e-knapsack sprayer, and 30 pieces of shovel procured under the DAR’S Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support Project (CRFPSP). The project aims to enhance and sustain the agricultural productivity of agrarian reform communities as a measure to adapt to climate change resiliency.
TKFA President Allan Freyra, who received the farm machinery, accepted the challenge to maintain the project with the utmost care, as he thanked the DAR for the support.
A Certificate of Turnover and Trust Agreement was signed by the DAR and the TKFA representatives to formally convey the ownership and responsibility to the farmers’ organization, as witnessed by representatives from the local government of Lake Sebu.
DAR Assistant Regional Director Roldan A. Ali encouraged the recipients to enrich, take care of, and sustain the project so that other members and people in the community could benefit from it.
Ali also encouraged the members of the ARB organization to recruit more farmerbeneficiaries so they could also enjoy the benefits of the support services entrusted to them.