The Philippine Online Chronicles

The peace panels of the Philippine government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) ended their three-day meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Wednesday and announced the continuation of the talks in January.

After Wednesday’s closed-door closing session, the two panels issued a one-page joint statement which refers to general terms such as “reaffirming their commitment to move the peace process forward”, Mindanews reported.

While the two panels did not disclose the details of the three-day talks, the heads of the two panels said they are “moving forward.”

“I am quoting MILF chair (Mohagher) Iqbal. He said ‘we are moving forward,’” government peace panel chair Marvic Leonen said, adding however that “the hard work is still to come.”

MILF chief negotiator Iqbal meanwhile said they tried to “level off” during the latest talks, citing that the two parties had immovable positions back in August.

“We have started the very difficult journey. Well, what is important is that even if it were a journey of a thousand miles, we have started stepping now. We have at least one, two, three steps already and we are moving towards that direction,” Iqbal said.

During the opening session last Monday, the MILF panel said they view the “state-substate asymmetrical formulation as a formula of peace and unity” in the country.

“The Moro aspiration for a separate identity and territorial autonomy are as strong as ever. This will not die down; it will consolidate and harden as years pile up. This is the reason the MILF is urging the government not to suppress this aspiration, and instead, find an acceptable formula leading to a more constructive engagement in order to ensure the unity of this country,” Iqbal said.

The Aquino government is eyeing a political settlement with the Moro rebels by the first quarter of 2012.

In a report, Leonen said the final agreement should be flexible enough to accommodate future adjustments, and that it should address the complexity of the parties’ constituencies.

In the P240-million 2012 budget for the Office of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), P50 million is alloted for next year’s round of negotiations between the government and the MILF.