What am I really doing wanting to go to Boracay?

 Recently working through a Global Issues module in an ABQ, I was introduced to the indigenous people's issues of the Philippines, 

Ati Community, Boracay Island Philippines

Indigenous nation: Ati community, Boracay Island, Philippines

Issue: Land rights

Summary: The Ati community own the ancestral land known as Boracay Island. This island is also known to be a highly visited tourist location with non-Indigenous settlers taking more and more land to create resorts to increase tourism. In doing so, the Ati community has been pushed into smaller and smaller patches of land and live as squatters in their own home. The never-ending tourism development drove the Ati to the Boracay’s hinterlands, and led to the temporary closure of the Island to tourists to prevent further environmental damage. The Ati community continue to fight for their land rights and most recently won its legal battle before the Supreme Court (SC) for its ancestral claim of a 2-hectare land in Barangay Manoc-manoc in Boracay, Aklan. However, it is important to note that it is only 2-hectares of a 1,032-hectare island.

Digital Resource: Learn more about the Ati community and their land rights here

How to address it in the course: Part of the curriculum of this course addresses connections to the land. This case can address expectation: B2.1 analyse the impact on Indigenous peoples of physical changes to and/or displacement from traditional lands, assessing the causes of change and the results of some contemporary efforts to address the consequences.

As land rights is an on-going issue for many Indigenous nations around the world, students can compare and contrast various communities and how their land rights have been impacted and the consequences. This case can also relate to environmental stewardship as the island had to be closed due to the damage caused by settlers and tourists on the land.  

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Looking into this from the past experiences I have had, never been to Boracay, but many friends telling me its working going and a place they very much enjoy the visit to. I myself have been to Cebu for a week or so, curious to find out more about these issues as they exist through the Philippines and Indonesia as well. This comes with special attention of interest as I was looking into travelling to PNG (Papua New Guinea) a few years ago, however did not for the worry of safety throughout travel there and not having enough time to really learn more about the place properly.

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