Tribe seeks Church support on land claim

THE Sama tribe in the southern Philippines has appealed to the Church for help in the tribespeople’s struggle to claim parts of the Island Garden City of Samal.

“We need the support of the Catholic Church in terms of capacity building and interfaith meetings between the Sama and other sectors,” said Rexall Kaalim, leader of a Muslim organization in the area.

Kaalim said the people need the Church’s help to avoid confusion over the ancestral domain and water claims of the tribe. He said the tribe will seek an audience with Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla to “freely express their sentiments and calls for support.”

The Samas filed a claim over 2,000 hectares of what they say is their ancestral land and more than 18,000 hectares of bodies of water on the 300-square kilometer island in the Davao Gulf.

The provincial government rejected the tribe’s claim in September, but the Samas said the government failed to take into account the inherent rights of the indigenous people over their territories.

Report from ucanews.com