ISABELA CITY, Basilan May 28 (PIA) – The
Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) today resumed negotiations a month after the signing of the Decision
Points on Principles, a landmark document which contains 10 points that will
serve as a guide on the substantive issues of the negotiations.
In a press statement, the Office of the
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) reveals that GPH chief
negotiator Marvic Leonen maintains a “cautious optimism” for this month’s round
of talks as the government peace panel arrived in the Malaysian capital fresh
from “several consultations, forums and dialogues on the content, concept and
rationale of the Decision Points on Principles.”
As of 9:32 a.m. today, the government and the
MILF panels engaged in an executive session for a preliminary discussion on the
substantive agenda. Executive sessions are attended by the two panels and the
Malaysian facilitator Tengku Dato' Ab Ghafar Tengku Mohamed only. Members of
the International Contact Group (ICG) who sit as observers in the GPH-MILF
peace negotiations are not present during these sessions.
The ICG will be joining again in tomorrow's
formal proceedings between the two parties where details on power-sharing,
wealth-sharing, governance, geographical areas and normalization are expected
to be tackled, to serve as inputs for the peace pact.
The 28th GPH-MILF formal exploratory talk is
expected to last for three days, until May 30.
In preparation for the talks this month, the
GPH panel conducted consultations with various stakeholders, which included
senators, congressmen, local chief executives in Mindanao, business leaders,
Ulama, and members of the Organization on Islamic Cooperation – Peace Committee
on Southern Philippines (OIC-PCSP) to know their sentiments and gather their
inputs on the GPH-MILF peace process.