Moro rebels who have been waging a decades-long rebellion in the
Mohagher Iqbal,
chief negotiator for the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF),
said it was determined to press ahead with negotiations despite the recent
setbacks.
"The process
is very hard and tough but that will not deter us from doing everything
possible to make it happen," Iqbal told AFP after a 10-day session of
talks ended on Sunday without agreement on key issues.
"Peace is at
stake. No one wants to spoil it."
The MILF is the
main rebel group that has been fighting since the 1970s for an independent or
autonomous homeland in the southern Philippines
Tens of thousands
of people have died in the conflict.
The MILF and
President Benigno Aquino's government signed an accord in March that laid out a
roadmap for final peace by the middle of 2016.
Under the peace
accord, the MILF would have control of a new southern autonomous region, and
the rebels would lay down their arms.
However the peace
process has since become bogged down in finalising the most sensitive issues in
a draft law to create the autonomous region, such as who would be in control of
security and budgets.
A commission made
up of MILF and government representatives drafted a bill and submitted it to
Aquino for review in April.
But the
president's legal team ordered a series of changes that frustrated the MILF.
In a joint
statement on Sunday at the end of their latest talks, the government and MILF
negotiating panels said they aim to complete a new draft bill by August 18.
The deadline is
seen as important to keep the roadmap on schedule, allowing time for Congress
to pass the law by the end of this year and for other key measures in 2015.
The deadline of
mid-2016 was set since Aquino must stand down by then after the single six-year
term mandated by the constitution. There are no guarantees his successor will
want to proceed with the peace plan.
Iqbal and chief
government negotiator Miriam Ferrer told AFP on Monday the bill could be agreed
upon by August 18, but said further delays were possible.
Senior Aquino
aides have also said in recent days the law may not be passed this year, but
insisted a final peace could still be achieved by 2016.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/08/11/14/moro-rebels-vow-win-peace
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