“Hopefully, if I can get everybody’s attention to the statement that chairman Murad said himself, iyong negotiating panel have to be focused, that they are problem solvers rather than antagonists. And I am very hopeful that, that is indicative that there is an intense desire to achieve a just and comprehensive peace agreement,” the President said referring to Murad’s statements.

The President’s meeting with the MILF leader as well as other high ranking officials of the rebel group last week in Japan was aimed at showing the government’s sincerity in pursuing the ongoing peace talks and at the same time fast track the negotiations.

Malacanang assured this week that it would consider the views of all stakeholders in the peace talks with the MILF before both panels meet on August 22 to 24.

According to Secretary Teresita Deles of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), the government panel will continue to work with different constituencies in preparation for the said meeting.

In a media briefing last week, government chief negotiator Marvic Leonen said both sides were expected to discuss the significant agenda in the upcoming formal talks this month.

At the same time, Leonen said there was no “secret deal” forged between the government and the MILF during the Japan meeting adding that the Aquino government will not commit the same mistakes made by the past administration. (PCOO)

The President revealed this piece of information in an interview at the sidelines of the commemoration of the 110th Police Service Anniversary of the Philippine National Police on Monday in Quezon City. “If there is one central message that, to me, really stuck is the idea na “tayo ay hindi magka-tunggali (We are not adversaries),” the President said.

The President met with Ebrahim in hopes of ending the decades long war that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.
He expressed confidence that through their meeting, a mutual “cooperation” between the two sides could be reached.

“I would like to think they will be cooperative as far as improving the situation, especially in the ARMM
(Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) and Mindanao in particular,” the President said. (PCOO)

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo disclosed this Tuesday following the courtesy call
of Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato Sri Anifah Aman on President Benigno S. Aquino III in
Malacanang.

Romulo said Malaysia has been playing a constructive and positive role to encourage a
peaceful resolution in the Mindanao problem.

The President welcomed Minister Anifah who was accompanied by Malaysian Ambassador
to the Philippines Dato’ Seri Dr. Ibrahim Saad.

Also present during the call were Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)
Secretary Teresita Deles and DFA Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio.

Minister Anifah’s visit centered on Malaysia’s role in the formal peace negotiations scheduled
this month between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

As its closest neighbor in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the
Philippines earlier decided to retain Malaysia as third party facilitator in the resumption of the
GRP-MILF peace talks, a role which Malaysia has assumed since 2001.

Since 2004, Malaysia also led the International Monitoring Team together with Libya, Japan
and Brunei which successfully contributed to the comprehensive peace process in Mindanao.
(PCOO/PIA)

MILF secretariat chairman Muhammad Ameen said Mohagher Iqbal will remain chairman of the peace panel. He said other members, including lawyer Datu Michael Mastura and Maulana Bobby Alonto, were retained as members of the group, except Lanang Ali and Musib Buat due to health problems.

The MILF named Prof. Abhoud Syed Lingga, chairman of the Institute of Bangsamoro Studies; and Abdullah Camlian, chairman of the MILF technical committee, as new panel members.

Another peace panel member is Datu Antonio Kinoc of B’laan tribe from Columbio, Sultan Kudarat.

The MILF deactivated its peace panel in June 23 following its last meeting with its government counterpart under the administration of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The MILF said it reconstituted its peace negotiating panel Sunday, after its central committee held a meeting mainly to discuss this agenda. (PIA)

“We cannot question (his) intention (but the) devils in negotiations is in the details,” said MILF peace panel member, lawyer Lanang Ali, in an article on the MILF website.

“Sometimes, words are used to conceal what is in the hearts of men,” Ali said, but added Aquino enjoys a relatively high trust rating among the Moros of Mindanao at this time.

In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), Aquino said peace and tranquility can be achieved if “those affected will talk with one another— the Moro, Lumad, Christians.” Aquino said peace negotiations with the MILF can resume after the Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting which begins on August 11 this year and ends on September 9.

However, Datu Antonio Kinoc, an alternate member of the MILF peace panel representing the indigenous tribes of Mindanao, said the SONA was “very soft and merely repeated the old cliché that in order to solve the problem, ‘people-to-people’ talking to each other is encouraged.”

He said the problem in Mindanao is rooted in sovereignty issues and the conflict requires sincere, hard, and objective solution. “More importantly, political will is the key to solving this conflict,” Kinoc said. (PIA-Bohol)

Jesuit-run Ateneo University School of Government and the Institute of Bangsamoro Studies, with the support of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), are hosting the talks featuring experts on the issue.

Ateneo School of Government Dean Tony La Vina said the discussions are taking place “outside the peace process” between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace negotiators.

In a report of the Union of Catholic Asian News, he expressed hope that some sessions could tackle issues raised during formal negotiations.

IBS is a non-stock, non-profit private institution begun in 2001 to undertake independent and collaborative research on Bangsamoro society, history, education, culture, politics, economic, and contemporary affairs.

IBS Executive Director Abhoud Syed Lingga said the Mindanao conflict stems from the struggle of the Bangsamoro people against “domination” by the Philippine state.

Lingga said peace in Mindanao can be achieved primarily through formal peace negotiations at the national level.

The new administration of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is preparing to resume peace talks that broke down in August 2008. (PIA-Bohol)

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Teresita Q. Deles disclosed the government is drawing up a general framework aimed to facilitate the immediate return and rehabilitation of the thousands of families in the region.

This as Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Teresita Q. Deles disclosed authorities are also seeking help from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to deal with the situation.

Deles said the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPPAP) in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is committed “to address the matter as quickly as possible.” (PIA Bohol)

President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, who is currently in Tuguegarao City to visit the wake of soldiers killed in action, said in a statement that he is committed to a consultative peace process so he has appointed Leonen — who he said understands the country’s history, different cultures, and aspirations — to head the government panel that will negotiate with the secessionist group.

Leonen, a constitutional expert who specializes in land issues, has taken part in convening a consortium of universities, many of which were from Mindanao, to examine the next phase of the peace process under the new administration.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said Leonen has “earned the respect of the peoples in Mindanao” because of his efforts to engage the academe and marginalized sectors and communities in resolving issues.

Leonen has worked on issues involving agrarian reform, access to justice, ancestral domain, health, environment, and international economic law. He said he will remain the dean of the UP College of Law despite his new role as the government’s chief negotiator with the MILF so UP can act as “a public service university.” (PIA-Bohol)

She declined to identify the panel members since the process of selecting the candidates is ongoing.

The government, she said, would immediately communicate with the Malaysian peace process facilitator to schedule the first round of talks.

Before exiting, the Arroyo administration entered into a “continuing agreement” with the MILF through a six-point declaration that noted key issues such as the aspiration of Bangsamoro (Muslim nation) for self-rule, ancestral domain and political settlement.

Ms. Deles said the administration is reviewing agreements and the strategies of the past government in the talks.

In a statement, she said the administration is adopting a four-point strategy on solving insurgency: delivery of basic services, particularly education and health; economic reconstruction and sustainable development in Mindanao; strengthening of security sector reform, particularly in disbanding private armies; and good governance.

Ms. Deles said these strategies will also advance the peace process in the entire country. (PIA-Bohol)

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said presidential adviser on the peace process Teresita “Ging” Deles gave President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III Tuesday morning her recommendations for the heads of the panels that will negotiate with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Lacierda refused to give names until the two panels are formed.

Lacierda said the resumption of peace negotiations with the two groups is the Aquino administration’s “internal” solution to the problems in conflict-ridden and poverty-stricken Mindanao.

The NPA, the armed wing of the CPP, operates nationwide while the MILF has its forces mostly in Central Mindanao. (PIA-Bohol)