Government and Moro rebel negotiators are scheduled to meet anew before the month ends to iron out some of the thorny and substantive issues -power and wealth sharing in areas in Mindanao to be governed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Mohaqher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, said his panel and that of Lawyer Marvic Leonen are to meet again next week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to continue discussing the still unresolved issues that both sides had signed during its last meeting.
In its April 24 meeting in Kuala Lumpur, the GPH and MILF peace panel signed the "Decision Points on Principles as of April 2012," the first major agreement signed by both panels since the talks began in 1997.
"Wealth and power sharing are among thorny remaining issues being ironed out," Iqbal said.
He explained that power sharing is vital in the MILF's desire to run its own affairs through self-determination and self-rule.
The areas claimed by the MILF as its ancestral domain are rich in natural resources and both panels have agreed to come up with sharing of resources settlement.
The GPH-MILF peace process started in 1997 but gained momentum in 2003 with the entry of Malaysia as third party facilitator and the inclusion of other foreign countries in the government's efforts to settle the Mindanao armed conflict through negotiations.
Over the weekend in Zamboanga City, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles assured the public the government will not sign any final peace deal with MILF without making it public.
"No hidden agenda in the government's negotiations with the MILF or with any group, we will make public the document," Deles said.
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