Peaceful Solution to Mindanao Conflict

By Ben Cal

Marvic Leonen, chair of the government peace panel negotiating with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), has admitted that the next round of exploratory talks "will be very difficult" as both sides will now tackle the substantive issues to find a peaceful solution to end the decades-old Mindanao armed conflict. 

"We are now at the heart of the negotiations on political settlement. Such political settlement needs continuous consultations with different sectors. This will go through a political process (in the different branches of government and in the national and local governments)," Leonen said.

The next round of talks will be held in Kuala Lumpur later this month.

The two peace panels will deliberate on the "details and particulars" on power-sharing, wealth-sharing between the national government and the envisioned new autonomous political entity, mode of defining its geographical area, transition and normalization mechanism.

"We move forward. It's clear where the peace talks are leading us — as laid out in the Decision Points on Principles," Leonen stated.

He pointed out that while there is guarded optimism and due diligence, the next talks will be very difficult.

Leonen assured that the government will remain engaged in the peace talks, saying that "it is important that we find a just and lasting solution to this problem in Mindanao."

Meanwhile, civil society organizations (CSOs) in Mindanao have underlined the importance of their role in the peace negotiations between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the MILF.

"We need to be aware of the position of the two panels to keep pushing the talks further," the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) quoted Mary Ann Arnado, secretary-general of the Mindanao People's Caucus (MPC).

The government has been conducting consultative meetings in various parts of Mindanao to inform the people on the important issues in ongoing peace negotiations.

The MPC, a group of non-government groups in Mindanao, is helping the GPH and the MILF find common grounds in the peace negotiations.

Last month, the GPH and the MILF signed the Decision Points on Principles during the 27th formal exploratory talks in Kuala Lumpur.

The document contains 10 mutually identified common standpoints that serve as a framework for the final peace agreement.