The Political Struggle of the Sama Dilaut within the Context of the Indigenous Peoples, the Zamboanga City Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative Struggle and Their Quest for the Assertion of Civil Political Rights

Abstract

Zamboanga City presents a case of cultural extremism in contrast. While it is home to five indigenous peoples communities and other cultural communities, and proudly sports the eternal symbol of the Sama, the Vinta as part of its symbolism and identity. The struggle for recognition and acknowledgement of the Indigenous Peoples of which the Sama Dilaut, also known as the Sama Bajau has been a long and ardous process. This paper is an attempt to tell the narrative of the struggle of the indigenous peoples (which includes the Sama Dilaut) in its quest of recognition of its political and socio-cultural rights in Zamboanga City. It will focus on the following: 1. Process of assertion of the recognition of the IP (Sama) Rights 2. Struggle for recognition of SAMA Organizations 3. Struggle for recognition of the Indigneous Peoples Mandatory representative 4. Current realities in the recognition and assertion of the rights of the Sama in the context of the Indigenous peoples of Zamboanga City. Paper presented at the 1st INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE SAMA BADJAO (SAMA DILAUT) "SEA-BOUND and CROSS-BORDERS Maritime Commerce and Sea-faring Lifeways of the Sama Dilaut in Tawi-Tawi ,December 1 to 3, 2015,Venue: Marine Science Museum, Integrated Fisheries Research and Training Center [IFRTC], MSU-TCTO Campus, Sanga-Sanga, Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, PHILIPPINES