Govt sees January start of informal talks with MILF

The Philippine government hopes to start informal talks with the secessionist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) by January next year, the government panel’s chief negotiator said Wednesday. Marvic Leonen said the government panel is "ready" and is just awaiting confirmation from MILF panel chairperson Mohagher Iqbal on the invitation sent by the Philippine government through third party facilitator Malaysia. “The earliest, we hope, will be in January next year. We are open to holding the sessions anywhere, but it could be in Kuala Lumpur," Leonen said in a statement. Leonen also expressed hope that "facilitation issues" will soon be resolved to pave the way for the smooth conduct of the informal sessions, which will eventually lead to the resumption of formal talks between the two parties. The MILF has opposed the government’s request to replace current facilitator Datuk Othman bin Abd’ Razak, whom the government accused of being bias toward the Moro rebels. Leonen said the government wants to reach a “politically negotiated settlement" by 2013 to be able to achieve full settlement with the MILF within President Benigno Aquino III’s term. “The government is eager to start the talks and accomplish politically negotiated settlement within the soonest possible time," Leonen said. Negotiations between the government and the MILF, which started in 1997, hit a snag in 2008 when the Supreme Court barred the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the two parties that would’ve allowed for the expansion of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The junking of the agreement — and the subsequent SC ruling branding it as unconstitutional — triggered violent acts from several MILF rebel commanders. Subsequent discussions between the government and the MILF, however, resulted in an agreement to continue the negotiations under the Aquino administration. — Andreo Calonzo/KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV