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Find creative ways to keep talks alive, Drilon tells govt, MILF


MANILA, Philippines - Former Senate President Franklin Drilon asked Friday the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels to go back to the negotiating table. Drilon, one of the guests in a public forum hosted by the University of the Philippines (UP) school of economics, said that the government and the MILF must be patient if they indeed want to achieve peace in Mindanao. “I have not lost hope. As long as we do not forget that we are all Filipinos, with the Philippines as our only country, the end to the conflict will always be in sight," Drilon said. Drilon said that the memorandum of agreement (MOA) on ancestral domain being effectively junked by the Supreme Court (SC) should not stop the government and the MILF from continuing the peace process. “I pray that the government and MILF panels will find creative ways to defy the odds and make it back to the negotiating table," the former senator said. “By then, I hope the government panel would have had learned its lessons, embrace the principle of transparency and conduct real consultations with all the stakeholders involved in this conflict," he said. Drilon said that while he opposed the controversial MOA on ancestral domain, he is still a firm supporter of the Mindanao peace process. - GMANews.TV
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