Formal GRP-MILF talks to resume August

(Updated 5:35 p.m.) The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have reset the formal resumption of peace negotiations to August after the two panels opted to cut short their two-day meeting Monday, June 27. The government has also deferred the submission of its counterpart proposal to the initial draft agreement submitted by the MILF, according to panel chairman Marvic Leonen in a statement. "The government panel has deferred the submission of its proposal. Both parties agreed that the next round of formal talks would be held on the first week of August," Leonen said even as he described the June 27 meeting as “productive." "The [Government of the Republic of the Philippines] and the MILF were able to level off on important points to facilitate the talks," he said. Leonen said he reassured the MILF that the Aquino government is sincere in pursuing a just and lasting peace in Mindanao and would not resort to any schemes that would preempt or supplant the negotiations. ComCom Asked by GMA News Online on Tuesday, Leonen declined to give a specific reason why the government opted to defer anew the submission of its counterproposal to the Comprehensive Compact (ComCom) that the MILF submitted in February. The ComCom proposes among others the recognition of a Bangsamoro identity while maintaining the Filipino citizenship of inhabitants in the region. The deferment came after Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles' assurance to the public last week that the government would be submitting their counterproposal yesterday (Monday). "In negotiations, we sometimes need to have the courage not to do what the public expects in order to allow possibilities which cannot be imagined by others," Leonen explained. Leonen, however, assured the public that the repeated deferment of the submission of a counterproposal would not diminish the government's sincerity in the peace talks. According to the MILF, the government's counterproposal was originally planned to be submitted during talks in April, but was later moved to June 27 - only to be further deferred to August. "As the process unfolds the public will understand why we did what we had to do," Leonen said. Scheme? The MILF earlier claimed that they received information from a “former Moro government official" that the administration was crafting a “scheme" that would lessen the participation of the international community — particularly Malaysia, the third-party facilitator, and members of the International Contact Group — in the talks. The MILF also said part of the scheme is to offer the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to the MILF leadership with the promise of reforming it while the necessary legislative action to amend the ARMM’s organic is also promised. Leonen branded the information as “rumors" and urged the MILF leadership not to listen to it. He said there would be reforms in the ARMM but that would be pursued “not because it wants to placate the MILF but with a sense of urgency because the constituencies we both claim to represent need economic development, good governance, a chance to enjoy the blessings of every opportunity that they and their children should be able to enjoy." He said the MILF should not become an obstacle to these reforms, stressing that the Aquino administration is aware of the historical injustices of the past and will not repeat the same mistakes. Discipline your forces Leonen also called on the MILF to “discipline its forces," following reports that one of their commanders, Ustadz Amiril Umra Kato, had tried to reinforce his men who were involved in the kidnapping of Filipino-Chinese businesswoman Angelina Chew Manjique. He said they also received reports that the MILF allegedly tried to kidnap the relatives of the suspects in the kidnapping, as part of its rescue strategy. He also called the MILF’s attention to the ongoing ‘rido’ between its 104th and 105th base commands in Barangay Kidayan in Palimbang in Sultan Kudarat as the conflict had already displaced 4,000 people. The government and the MILF began peace talks in 1997. The Arroyo administration’s peace efforts with the MILF, however, were jeopardized in late 2008 when the Supreme Court barred the signing -- and eventually ruled as unconstitutional-- of a memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain between the government and the MILF expanding the ARMM. The junking of the MOA-AD triggered violent acts from some MILF rebel commanders. Subsequent discussions between the government and the Moro secessionists, however, resulted in an agreement to continue talks under the next administration. No bombings, please Government panel military adviser Brig. Gen. Restituto Aguilar also urged those behind the recent bombings in Kidapawan and Cotabato cities to desist from engaging in criminal acts that might “jeopardize the peace process." Aguilar, who was also in the Kuala Lumpur for the talks, said he received military reports that the bombings last Monday were related to the peace talks. An improvised explosive device (IED) went off near the office of the Commission on Audit in North Cotabato at around 8:20 a.m. on June 27, while a similar device exploded in front of the provincial satellite auditing office in Kidapawan City, around 9 a.m. No casualties were reported in the two incident, but authorities also recovered two improvised bombs inside a Toyota Hi-Ace passenger van during a security inspection conducted by the police in Sultan Kudarat province also last Monday. “We are very concerned about these developments. However, we are still verifying reports on the possible perpetrators of this crime," said Aguilar adding tat they are consulting and seeking the assistance of their counterparts in the MILF through the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) that has been mandated to interdict and isolate criminal elements operating in MILF areas. “How can we gain wide public support for the Mindanao peace agreement if bombings and violence continue? I really hope that this is not related to the talks," he added. — with Mark Merueñas/KBK/RSJ, GMA News