Despite the Supreme Court's decision not to hear the appeal of the so-called Dave Davis case ruling which struck down a "native inhabitants only" plebiscite as unconstitutional, a movement has been launched urging local political leaders to continue with Chamorro self-determination vote.

The Fanoghe Coalition includes many non-Chamorros who support the cause, and KUAM News spoke with a member of Filipinos for Guahan, who wrote her doctoral dissertation on the subject.

Dr. Tabitha Espina was 7 years old when she released a record album locally, entitled "Tabitha Espina, Island Girl." As it turns out the resulting response would leave a profound impression on her that resonates to this day.

"The primary criticism was that I couldn't be an island girl because I was Filipino. And being seven I couldn't quite understand what that meant, why claiming that particular identify was problematic. And so through my adolescence and into my adulthood I constantly grappled with this question," she explained.

In fact, the question helped inform what would be both her master's thesis and doctoral dissertation: "Identity politics and formation as a Filipina from Guahan." She describes a  theoretic framework she devised for talking with older generations about the Filipina identity in Guam, and how to make what can be a complex and sensitive issue more relatable?.

"I wanted to take this concept of talking about food, something that's so profound to our Filipino culture to talking about something that we are all passionate about but in terms that come from our community and that can resonate with those whom I'm having these conversations with," she told KUAM News.

Specifically she recalls a conversation with her grandmother in which she used three popular Filipino desserts: ube, sapin sapin, and halo halo to frame the three generations between them.

"And she said, 'Oh, I'm ube generation because I'm the roots.' And I said yes, and she goes 'You're halo halo generation because you're all mixed up', and I said yes! These are the kinds of conversations I wanted to have," she said, smiling.

The topic of her doctoral dissertation was "Unsettling the rhetoric of the politics of Filipinos on Guahan," in which she examined the shared experiences of the Philippines and Guam with regard to colonial legacies, and the resulting social movements.

She explained, "How can we approach the issues that we care about within the framework of inafa'maolek? One that's predicated on respect. What I really want is to look at the ways Filipinos can approach political issues in a posture of humility and how we can do so with language that is respectful and resonates with not just our community but others who have experienced histories of colonization."

But as a third generation Filipino Guamanian, born and raised in Guam, Tabitha says its not a question of whether she and many others like her would be disenfranchised by a native inhabitant only plebiscite, it's a question of respecting the CHamoru right to self determination...

"My involvement with Filipinos for Guahan is saying that I'm not advocating for a particular political status," Espina qualified, "but what I would really like is an opportunity for the Chamorro people to be able to determine for themselves whichever one that is."