PNoy: MILF peace talks on track

From GMA News (Oct 21): PNoy: MILF peace talks on track

Despite an apparent snag in the signing of annexes, President Benigno Aquino III said Monday that the peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are still on track.

"I was assured na we are still on track and I didn’t get any information to the contrary," Aquino told reporters during an interview at the Solaire Resort and Casino in Parañaque.

He made the assurance even as the two panels failed to sign the power-sharing annex despite extending talks for a day and negotiating for 18 hours on its last round of talks. The 41st round of exploratory talks concluded in time for Eid'Ul'Adha, Islam's feast of the holy sacrifice, last October 15.

Aquino, however, said there has been significant progress in the negotiations.

"Tuluy-tuloy iyong ating mga dialogues with the MILF on the annexes...at parang pagkakaintindi ko, maganda naman ang developments on the talks on the last two remaining annexes," he said.

The last two unsigned annexes in the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro are the ones on power-sharing and normalization.

Once signed, the annexes will complete the comprehensive peace agreement with the MILF.  The two annexes that have been signed are those on wealth-sharing (signed July 2013) and transitional arrangements and modalities (signed February 2013).

Government panel chairperson Miriam Colonel-Ferrer said talks will resume "in due time."

Aside from the negotiations with the MILF, Aquino reiterated that the government continues to talk with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) despite the charges filed against its founding chairman Nur Misuari.

"Kinakausap natin syempre iyong all the other factions and even some of the people who are supposed to be identified with Misuari and some of them have already publicly stated that they were not in favor of what happened in Zamboanga," he said.

"We are still talking to the MNLF who are not…part of the Zamboanga City incident and still interested in the fulfillment of the 1996 peace accord," he added.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/331821/news/nation/pnoy-milf-peace-talks-on-track