Catholic educators today said non-Muslim indigenous people in southern Philippines should be given due importance in the ongoing peace negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) cautioned both parties that the proposed Bangsamoro “sub-state,” or autonomy, affects the distinct historic rights to ancestral domains of lumads, or indigenous people of Mindanao.

“Equally important in the development of the peace process is the inclusion of the IP [indigenous people] in the peace talks,” CEAP said in a statement.

“These lumads are often caught in the conflict and their rights, especially the protection of their ancestral domain, must be safeguarded,” it said.

The organization of 1,345 schools, including colleges and universities, has been at the forefront of the pursuit of justice and peace in the country, particularly in war-torn Mindanao.

The CEAP statement was the result of the 3rd Mindanao Bishops-CEAP Conference and the 4th CEAP Mindanao Summit, held from August 19-20 at Notre Dame University in Cotabato City.

Efforts to fast-track negotiations to end the decades-long Moro separatist struggle in Mindanao are a “positive development” in the process, it said.

The CEAP also lauded the efforts of the Coordinating Council for the Cessation of Hostilities and the International Monitoring Team in the peace process.

“Through their tireless efforts, there has been a cessation of armed conflict between the military and the MILF since January of this year,” it said.

“CEAP prays for peace. It prays that our Muslim brothers and sisters involved in the ongoing skirmishes between the MILF and the breakaway faction of Ameril Umra Kato may resolve their differences peacefully, so that the peace process can progress smoothly.”

It added: “All sectors of society in the Philippines are urged to lend support to this transparent and democratic process that can pave the way to a lasting peace in Mindanao.”

Various leaders of indigenous communities in Mindanao earlier urged President Benigno Aquino to exclude their ancestral lands in an expanded Bangsamoro territory.