Boracay Ati tribe sues developer over land barricade

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

MALAY, Aklan — After years of legal challenges over land awarded to them nearly eight years ago, the Ati community of Boracay Island has filed charges against a private developer that barricaded and posted guards on a contested portion before the case reached a final ruling.

The Boracay Ati Tribal Organization (BATO), which represents the island’s Ati community, lodged three complaints against JECO Development Corporation on Wednesday, April 29:

• A petition for injunction with temporary restraining order before the Regional Trial Court in Kalibo;
• A complaint for forcible entry with preliminary mandatory injunction before the Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Malay-Buruanga; and
• A complaint-affidavit for qualified trespass to dwelling and grave coercion before the Aklan Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.

BATO seeks to immediately halt JECO’s alleged exclusionary actions while the dispute remains unresolved.

The organization also asserts its superior possessory rights as registered titleholders since 2018 and seeks criminal liability against the company’s officers and security personnel.

In a statement, BATO chieftain Delsa Justo said the community only wants to return to their land without obstruction.

“This land is not just a piece of paper to us. It is where we plant, where we raise our children, where our elders taught us who we are. The President himself gave it to us — he put the title in our hands. Now a company with armed guards is telling us we cannot enter. We are not asking for anything new. We are asking only to go home,” Justo said.

Lawyer Romy Paolo Lucion, counsel for BATO in the three cases, emphasized that the legal actions are distinct from the agrarian dispute pending before DAR, although related in context.

“This is not a case about complicated agrarian law. It is a case about a title and a barricade. The previous president put these titles in the Ati’s hands. A real estate company put a gate on their land — with no final order, no writ, no lawful authority of any kind. You do not remove a registered owner with armed guards. You go to court. JECO did not go to court — JECO came to the land,” Lucion said.

The legal actions stem from JECO’s installation of barricades and deployment of security guards in February, which allegedly blocked BATO members from accessing a portion of land covered by a Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA).

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) issued the CLOAs in 2018 under former President Rodrigo Duterte, as part of efforts to recognize the land rights of indigenous communities in Boracay following the island’s rehabilitation.

The Atis are recognized as Boracay’s original inhabitants, predating the island’s transformation into one of the Philippines’ top tourist destinations.

The CLOAs, however, are now under challenge after DAR-Western Visayas issued a cancellation order favoring JECO Development Corporation and other property developers.

The DAR central office affirmed the order in 2024 and certified it earlier this year.

BATO, through legal counsels Daniel and Kchyrziahshayne Dinopol, filed a motion for reconsideration dated February 4, seeking to overturn the affirmed cancellation.