BORACAY – Government agencies united to “save” this island and help bring back its natural beauty, according to a leader of Ati residents.
They were glad that God heard their prayer for the island to be spared from further environmental damage and degradation, said tribe chieftain Delsa Justo.
President Rodrigo Duterte and the Department of Agrarian Reform recently handed six collective certificates of landownership award (CLOAs) for 3.2064 hectares of agricultural land in Barangay Manoc-manoc to the Boracay Ati Tribal Organization.
Forty-four Ati families will be trained to maximize the benefits of these lands to uplift their economic status, said Agrarian Reform secretary John Castriciones.
“May mga garden tools, kits and trainings din tayo para sa productivity ng kanilang lupa,” said Castriciones.
The government also eyes the distribution of some of the recovered wetlands in the island to the tumandoks, he said.
Most of them do not own a land and live in makeshift huts, and laboring hard for little wages, said Justo.
“Kami na Ati na katutubo sa isla ay lubos ang aming kasiyahan sapagkat dininig ng Diyos ang aming matagal na panalangin na sana ay dumating ang panahon na maibalik at maiayos ang Boracay na unti-unting nasisira,” the Ati leader said.
Justo added: “Sa anim na buwan na pagsasara ng Boracay, ito ay naging daan upang mamulat kami sa aming pagkukulang dahil sa walang humpay na pagsira at pag-abuso sa ating kalikasan. Hindi matumbasan ng pera ang kalikasan na siyang nagbibigay kanlungan sa aming lahat.
“Tunay na napakasuwerte ng Boracaynon sapagkat lahat ng ahensiya ng gobyerno ay nagkaisa upang maisalba ang isla at muling manumbalik ang dating ganda at kaayusan ng Boracay dahil sa pamumuno na ating matapang at mapagmahal na Pangulong Duterte.”
That day Nov. 8 Duterte also led the distribution of 623 CLOAs for 274.03 hectares of land in Aklan province to 484 agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Farmer beneficiaries in barangays Kabulihan and Nabaoy in mainland Malay town received 33 CLOAs for 30.2704 hectares.
Fifty CLOAs for 56.3245 hectares were distributed as well to barangays Nazareth, Tigum, Habana, and Tag-osip in Buruanga, and 534 CLOAs for 185.7224 hectares to Barangay Tagas, Tangalan. (With Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
