Gov’t, MILF may resume talks on Dec. 22 - Palace

KIDAPAWAN, Philippines – Peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) might start on December 22, Malacaňang said on Saturday. The informal talks will take place shortly after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s visit to Qatar, said the statement carried by the website of the Office of the Press Secretary. The December 22 schedule is a week after the President’s visit to Qatar. The President left for Qatar early Saturday for a three-day mission to ask for its support in the peace efforts in Mindanao. Qatar has brokered the settlement of the internal conflict in Lebanon. The Philippine government, according to OPS, might learn from Qatar’s peace overtures. The Philippine government panel, however, has yet to be reconstituted. Last September 3, Malacaňang decided to disband the previous panel after the failed signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain. - Malu Cadelina Manar , GMANews.TV