The Philippine bishops’ Episcopal Commission for Indigenous Peoples has called for the protection of the land rights of the indigenous Ati people on Boracay, which has become a resort island.
“The Ati people have been stewards of the land for generations,” said Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, president of Caritas Philippines, but certificates granted by the government respecting their land rights were cancelled in 2023. “Powerful and influential people wanted these certificates cancelled. We must help the Ati in prayer, encourage them, pay tribute to them, support them financially and legally.”