The Philippine Online Chronicles

Outgoing Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Annabelle Abaya has offered president-elect Noynoy Aquino some advice – appoint more women to the government’s peace panel which holds talks with the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

“I hope that all panels -- the MILF or the CPP-NPA (New People's Army) -- at least have two women- not one but two women, because women change the dynamics of negotiation,” Abaya said on Thursday, at a peace forum in Pasig City.

Abaya said that women usually act as a counterpoint to the tense atmosphere during peace negotiations. She added that in some respects women are more equipped than men to deal with the emotional aspect of peace talks.

“When people are talking about rationale, you cannot forget the emotional aspect. Although people will do not want to put that on the table, the reality is people think because of what they feel. So it is the women who are more comfortable with this aspect of negotiation,” she said.

However, Abaya added that new leadership must ensure “institutional memory” in the talks and build on the gains made by the negotiations made during the Arroyo administration.

“I'd be very careful about preserving institutional memory so that they don't frustrate the other side. This has been the complaint of the panel on the other side that members of the panel keep changing, and they have to be oriented again,” she added.

Aquino is reportedly bringing in Teresita “Ging” Deles as his adviser on the peace process. Deles previously held the position under the Arroyo administration, from 2003 to 2005 before resigning during the height of the Hello Garci scandal.

Abaya is set to give Deles a “closure document” listing developments in the government’s negotiations with other parties, to “pave the way for a seamless turnover of peace negotiations in the next administration.”