by Franklin P. Gumapon
DIPOLOG CITY, Feb. 20 (PIA) - - Government of the Philippines (GPH) panel chair lawyer Marvic Leonen has assured that consultations with all the stakeholders in areas affected by the ongoing peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) be continued to enable them to “articulate interest and agree on common courses of action.”
This was contained in a press statement issued recently by the GPH panel chair following the conduct of the 25th round of the exploratory talks between the GPH and the MILF in Kuala Lumpur last week.
Leonen said the government has pushed to include and acknowledge all stakeholders within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in negotiations with the MILF to attain a just and lasting peace in Mindanao.
He also revealed that President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III emphasized from the beginning of the peace talks that the government shall work within the flexibilities of the Constitution and within the parameters of national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Office of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles, on the other hand, expressed optimism during a welcome dinner for Indonesian Ambassador Rezlean I. Jennie and members of the Organization of Islamic Conference-Peace Committee for the Southern Philippines (OIC-PCSP)that the peace talks would arrive at a resolution to the decades-old armed conflict in Mindanao. (FPG/PIA-Zamboanga del Norte)
