His Excellency
Benigno Simeon C. Aquino
President of the Republic of the Philippines
Malacañang Palace JP Laurel St.,
San Miguel Manila NCR 1005, Philippines
Fax: +63 2 7361346
June 21, 2013
Re: Disrespect of Indigenous Peoples’ Land Rights in Boracay violates their Right to Adequate Food
His Excellency,
FIAN International is an international human rights organization – in consultative status with the
United Nations Economic and Social Council - advocating for the right to adequate food worldwide.
Recently, we received information about the killing of Dexter Condez, a 26 years old youth leader of the Ati
tribe in Boracay and spokesperson of the Boracay Ati Tribal Organization (BATO). Condez was shot on 22
February 2013 on the way home from a meeting between tribal leaders and nuns of the Holy Rosary Parish
Ati Mission (HRPAM). The victim was accompanied by two other members of his tribe, when he was shot by
an unidentified man. Dexter Condez’ death – according to the Ati and their supporters - is said to be the
tragic result of a decade-long dispute over a 2.1-hectares piece of land situated in Barangay Manoc-Manoc
in the Municipality of Malay.1 Condez’ death is not only a sad attestation of the security situation of human
rights defenders in the Philippines. It is also a severe set-back to the Ati tribe and other indigenous peoples
who are struggling for their rights, especially for their right to ancestral domains, since access to land is
crucial for the realization of the indigenous peoples’ right to food.
Boracay is one of Asia’s top beach destinations and is known for its four-kilometer powder-fine
white sandy beach and crystalline waters. It is a tourist heaven that has also witnessed multimillion
investments of hotels and restaurant industries during the past several years. The growth of the island’s
tourist industry, however, did not benefit its “first inhabitants” as the Ati call themselves. They had lived
traditionally from the sources of the sea and land – shells and fish, fruits and crops, and animals they
hunted in the forest. The construction of tourism facilities have deprived them of these traditional ways to
provide themselves with food. The Ati now rely on fishing, planting some vegetables or even on alms from
tourists.
1
A few days after Condez’ death, the police filed a murder case against a security guard who is linked with qn agency
employed by a private hotel in Boracay. According to the witness report of the police, witnesses of the Ati community
recognized the suspect Both the suspect and the hotel management deny involvement in the killing of Condez.
Since 1997, the Ati community of Dexter Condez has been living on a one hectare lot in Barangay
Balabag. On 23 February 2000, 200 members of BATO (around 40 Ati families) petitioned for the issuance
of a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) as provided in the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) of
1997 for the above-mentioned 2.1-hectares piece of land the Ati claim as their ancestral domain. As the
basic national law on indigenous peoples (IPs) rights, IPRA obliges the Philippines to recognize, protect, and
promote the rights of IPs to their ancestral domains and to ensure their economic, social and cultural well
being. Through the issuance of CADTs, the Philippines formally recognizes the rights of possession and
ownership of IPs over their ancestral domains, including natural resources.
After more than ten years, on 3 August 2010, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples
(NCIP) issued the CADT. The CADT covers the 2.1-hectares lot and gives the Ati several rights, among which
are the right to control the land and to stay in the territory. With the CADT, the community could also avail
itself of a government Ancestral Domain Sustainability Development and Protection Plan, which is a
package of economic and social services, issues which Dexter and other Ati – among others - had been
demanding due to its lack of implementation. Apart from the 2.1-hectares, which will mainly serve as home
lots, the Ati have petitioned the NCIP in May 2012 for the formal recognition of the shoreline they occupied
as part of their ancestral domain, which according to the Ati would cover 200 hectares, including public
forest, the mangrove area, wetlands and the ancestral waters.
Although the Ati were awarded the 2.1-hectare lot, they were not able to enter their land due to
threats of harassment and eviction by some private claimants of the concerned land, who have filed cases
at local courts, questioning the Ati’s historical claim to the land2. Since the Atis’ petition, fences and other
construction on the disputed lot have been built by the claimants. On 17 April 2012, at least 60 Ati
members, supported by local church leaders and other groups, peacefully occupied the 2.1. hectare lot.
After the occupation, they built their own fence around the lot as well as makeshift houses of bamboo.
Subsequently, the NCIP issued an order to install the Ati, and the land titles were registered at the Office of
the Register Deed. However, tensions with the other private claimants culminated in a confrontation, and
as a result, private armed security guards destroyed parts of the fence and threatened the community
members in November 20123. The Atis filed a criminal case against the 20 security men of the hotel.
However, neither the case nor the dispute was finally resolved.
2
According to information we received, one of the cases was dismissed by the Court, while the others are still
pending.
3
After the incident, Dexter Condez and another Ati tribal leader filed a joint complaint at the Regional Office of the
Commission on Human Rights (CHR). The CHR, however, never initiated an investigation. Instead, several
appointments with the tribal leaders were postponed until the killing of Dexter. In the said joint complaint, the Ati
described how at least 20 security guards, identified as working for the above mentioned private hotel, had
threatened women and children of the community. According to the joint complaint, the security guards demanded
the Ati to vacate the place threatening them with their barrels and claiming that the area would belong to the hotel
owner. The incident left the Ati in fear for their lives.
The Ati usually do not find employment within the tourist establishments as most of them were not
able to finish school due to poverty and discrimination4. Some men of the community work as construction
workers, laborers or carpenters. Women usually do housekeeping and wash clothes to earn some money.
As a state party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the
Philippines has the obligation to protect and fulfill the right to food of indigenous peoples at all times.
Under the ICESCR, the Philippine State is obliged to protect the right to food of indigenous peoples against
third parties’ actions that could violate this fundamental right5. As such, the State is required to take
positive measures to ensure that enterprises or individuals do not deprive indigenous peoples of their
access to food. In this regard, immediate investigation into the murder case is needed, perpetrators must
be held responsible, and furthermore protection to the lives of the Ati has to be guaranteed. Additionally,
the Government of the Philippines must fulfil6 the right to food of the Ati families by providing adequate
livelihood programs – as already requested by the Ati at the local government7 – as the means to ensure
that the Ati have, at the very least, access to minimum essential food to ensure their freedom from hunger,
as well to facilitate them a way out of marginalization and poverty. Issuance of the CADT and the
subsequent order to install Ati on the concerned land was an important step towards fulfilling the right to
food of the Ati, who are dependent on their ancestral domain – also a symbol of their cultural identify and
history - in order to guarantee their right to feed themselves now and for future generations. However, this
order has not been implemented so far. Also, their claim to 200 hectares comprising ancestral waters and
forests is still pending.
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples further acknowledges the IPs distinctive
spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned land. According to Article 26, indigenous peoples have
the right to own, use, develop and control these lands and the State is obliged to give legal protection. The
Culture of IPs is closely linked to the use of land. Thus, protection of land is even more important to realize
the right to food of IPs.
As such, I would like to ask you, His Excellency, to:
1) call for the immediate investigation on the killing of Dexter Condez and request the Commission on
Human Rights (CHR) to conduct a Fact Finding Mission on the background of the killing and
previous tensions in which third parties were involved – especially as a previous complaint had
already been submitted to the CHR;
2) request an immediate resolution of the pending court cases of the private claimants that respects
the Ati members’ right to their ancestral domain;
3) provide adequate security to the Ati members who have occupied the 2.1-hectare lot;
4) provide adequate protection to those Ati members who have not yet been able to settle on the lot
in fear of eviction;
4
Ati are often discriminated due to their skin color. As a reason, many children drop out of school, or workers are
harassed at the work place and leave eventually.
5
UN General Comment 12 - The right to adequate food (Art.11), 1999.
6
UN General Comment 12 - The right to adequate food (Art.11), 1999.
7
One year ago, the Ati requested a boat at the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the
purpose of fishing, but the Local Government Unit (LGU) has not approved the request.
5) fast-track the decision on the pending CADT application of the Ati for the 200-hectares area at the
shoreline.
Sincerely,
cc:
Zenaida Brigida Hamada-Pawid
Chairperson
National Commission on Indigenous Peoples
Fax: +63 2 373 9787
cc:
Ms. Loretta Ann P. Rosales
Chairperson
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Building, Commonwealth Avenue
UP Complex, Diliman, Quezon City
Philippines
Fax: +63 2 9290102