Philippines: Dureza confident of moving forward peace talks with MILF

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza expressed confidence today that the peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which resumes tomorrow (Nov. 14) in Kuala Lumpur will move forward once the contentious ancestral domain issue has been settled.

In an interview after the National Security Council (NSC)-Cabinet Group meeting in Malacanang this afternoon, Dureza said that if the agreement on territory could be finalized in Kuala Lumpur, the two panels are looking at the early months of 2008 to tackle the possible signing of an ancestral domain agreement.

�Everything, of course, would depend on the outcome of the Nov. 14 meeting. I�m confident we can already move forward beyond the ancestral domain issue,� he explained.

Dureza said he had already briefed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on the ongoing government initiatives in local peace assembly and the forthcoming resumption of the talks.

The President had earlier instructed the government panel to conduct more studies and consultations anent a new MILF demand to include the entire Sultan Kudarat province as part of a new Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Secretary Rodolfo Garcia will head the government panel in the negotiations.

The peace talks being sponsored by the Malaysian government were temporarily shelved in September last year after both parties failed to agree over ancestral domain issues.

Meanwhile, on the ceasefire issue with the National Democratic Front (NDF), Dureza said the President is now awaiting the final recommendation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on when they can announce the exact date of the truce.

Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said that he is now completing some documents related to the ceasefire with the NDF�s armed wing New People�s Army (NPA). He said that once completed, he will personally submit the documents to the President.

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