Government, MILF panels to meet tomorrow

COTABATO CITY — Government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) negotiators will hold a low-level meeting here tomorrow — the first after a long lull in the talks - to enhance the ceasefire in areas where soldiers and Moro rebels continue to face a standoff.

Sources from the regional office here of the Philippine Information Agency said Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Eduardo Ermita, the government’s chief negotiator, is among those expected to attend the meeting of both panels’ committees on the cessation of hostilities.

Members of the MILF central committee said the meeting would likely focus on how to enhance the ceasefire and prevent undue rebel-military confrontations while the newly revived peace talks are underway.

The committee-level meeting will be held at the office of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor here.

The MILF is not opposed to the venue despite its non-recognition of the ARMM since its creation in 1990 and its subsequent expansion through a plebiscite on Aug. 14, 2001.

The MILF has asserted that the establishment of the ARMM, now headed by Gov. Parouk Hussin who belongs to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), is not the answer to the quest of Filipino Muslims for self-governance.