MILF: Third party needed to break deadlock in peace talks

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said a third party may be needed to break the deadlock in its peace talks with the Philippine government. In a news release posted on the MILF website, MILF peace panel secretariat head Jun Mantawil said, “There is nothing to talk about for now; the two drafts are far apart. The GPH (government of the Philippines) is talking about integration couched with autonomy label, while the MILF will not settle for anything less than genuine autonomy." Mantawil issued the statement after it was reported that the government peace panel wants an immediate meeting in Kuala Lumpur early this month. He noted the importance of the third party facilitator and the members of the International Contact Group (ICG) in resolving the deadlock in peace talks. He said, “I think it is time for the facilitator to shuttle between Manila and Darapanan and work to close the gaps of the two ‘heaven-and-earth’ drafts," he said. In a report on GMA News' "Saksi" Monday night, MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim said that up to this point in the negotiations, the government still has yet to offer a "firm" solution to the problem. "My observation is they are not yet firm on what will be the process in solving the Bangsamoro problem," he said. Despite the MILF labeling of the two drafts as "far apart," the government panel insisted there are still commonalities in them [drafts] that could still be explored during the negotiations. "Sa pagtingin namin maraming common grounds. Kaya ang suggestion namin sa kanila, umupo tayo. Hanapin natin iyong common ground," Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, a member of the government peace, said in the same Saksi report. Amendment to Constitution Meanwhile, in the same news release, Jolo-based MILF political officer Hassan Hatab said he was stunned that their proposal to amend the Constitution to accommodate the MILF demand for a substate was ignored by the government. “No amendment to the Constitution, no solution to the Moro Question, and there will always be trouble forever," he stressed. He lamented that other countries such as Indonesia, Sudan, Papua New Guinea, the United Kingdom, and Ireland could accommodate peace agreements in their respective constitutions, but the Philippines could not. Three-for-one peace proposal In late August, the Philippine government presented its "three-for-one" peace proposal to the MILF. Chief government negotiator Marvic Leonen said the government's proposal involves “three important components for one solution to the Bangsamoro problem." In a news release posted on the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) website, Leonen said the components include: