In Celebration of Indigenous Peoples Sunday: IP calls for a Stronger Unity with the Church

The KATRIBU Partylist, its officers and members join our Christian brothers and sisters commemorate the annual Tribal Filipino Sunday. We appreciate the Church's continued recognition of our collective and human rights to our ancestral land and identity.

We commend the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) through its Episcopal Commission on Indigenous Peoples (ECIP) for the theme “HEALING FOR SOLIDARITY: ASKING FORGIVENESS FOR SINS AGAINST INDIGENOUS PEOPLES– ” in this year's celebration of Tribal Filipino Sunday. Such a theme is very timely as the unity of the Church is the strongest asset of the indigenous peoples to change the plight we are currently face. But unity without understanding is null. Learning from the lessons of past mistakes forges stronger ties.

The indigenous peoples never forgot our subjugation to foreign power together with the religious chauvinism inflicted upon our forefathers. It created a wound that afflicted generation to generation of our peoples. It borne the disunity of the Filipino people with the indigenous peoples and our fellow Moros., It justified the plunder of our land and resources. It perpetrated discrimination and prejudice to our culture and way or life. It barred us from meaningful political, social and cultural participation in society.

As we try to redeem ourselves from this historical and institutional error, we must draw the lesson from this injustice, for repentance and atonement is based on the understanding our mistakes. This guides us toward a more meaningful relation toward each others.

We call upon our Christians brothers and sisters and the Church as a whole, with a renewed commitment, to be in solidarity with our struggle to protect our ancestral lands from the foreign plunder and domination; to resolutely uphold the indigenous people human rights , protect it from the atrocities and disrespect, to promote our culture with respect and dignity , shielding it from the decadent influence of consumerism, commercialization and profit-oriented social system.

Together with the indigenous peoples, we can forge a new and better tomorrow, learning from and rectifying our past mistakes. Together with the Filipino, the Church and the indigenous people can work for a just and peaceful future. ###