Without fanfare, the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) resumed their 28th exploratory peace talks in Kuala Lumpur Monday, according to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).
“As of 9:32 a.m. today, the government and the MILF panels engaged in an executive session for a preliminary discussion on the substantive agenda,” OPAPP said.
Aside from the GPH and MILF peace panels, also present during the executive session was the Malaysian facilitator Tengku Dato’ Ab Ghafar Tengku Mohamed only.
However, members of the International Contact Group (ICG), who sit as observers in the GPH-MILF peace negotiations, were not present in Monday’s session.
OPAPP said the ICG would attend Tuesday’s “formal proceedings between the two parties where details on power-sharing, wealth-sharing, governance, geographical areas and normalization are expected to be tackled, to serve as inputs for the peace pact.”
The exploratory talks will last until May 30.
The negotiations resumed a month after the two sides signed the Decision Points on Principles containing 10 points that will serve as a guide on the substantive issues to find a lasting solution to the long-drawn Mindanao armed conflict.
GPH chief negotiator Marvic Leonen has maintained a “cautious optimism” for this new round of talks after holding a series of consultations in southern Philippines the past months.
OPAPP said the government peace panel had conducted a total of 96 consultations to date.
During these public dialogues, the GPH panel explained to stakeholders the content, concept and rationale of the Decision Points Principles.
In preparation for the talks this month, the GPH panel held dialogues with senators, congressmen, local chief executives in Mindanao, business leaders, Ulama, and members of the Organization on Islamic Cooperation – Peace Committee on Southern Philippines (OIC-PCSP) to know their sentiments and gather their inputs on the GPH-MILF peace process. [PNA]
