Gov’t-MILF talks to resume in July

President Benigno Aquino III gives a miniature figurine to Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim before the historic signing of the framework agreement between the Philippine government and the MILF at the Malacanang Presidential Palace last Oct. 15. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Formal talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Kuala Lumpur will resume in July, government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said in a statement released by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) on Friday.

“The panel chairs have already agreed on a date early next month to further discuss the annexes on wealth sharing, power sharing and normalization,” Ferrer said.

Amid reports of a “stalemate” in talks to solve the 40-year rebellion in Mindanao, Ferrer met informally with MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal in Oslo where they both attended the Oslo Forum 2013. The event was organized by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue last June 18 and 19.

Ferrer said she had given Iqbal the government’s full proposals on the wealth sharing annex “for the MILF to study and consider.”

The wealth sharing annex has been a controversial issue of late between the government and the MILF, with the latter protesting a  “review” conducted by the Aquino administration on the document even after the two panels’ working committees affixed their signatures on it.

The MILF considers the document final, while the government said it was merely practicing due diligence and prudence with the review.