Gov’t, MILF resume peace talks in Malaysia

MANILA, Philippines - The members of the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels left for Malaysia Sunday to resume working on the Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro. 

Chief government negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said the  three-day meeting is  â€œcrucial” as they discuss power-sharing, wealth-sharing, normalization and transitional arrangements and modalities.

“Much work is still needed to find a middle ground on certain core issues,” Ferrer said in an e-mailed statement.

Jun Mantawil, head of the MILF secretariat, said the issues on power-sharing are “97 percent settled” but “the remaining unsettled issues are very hard to resolve.”

Ferrer said the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, which shall  oversee the gradual setting up of the Bangsamoro region, will also be discussed.

“There may be some items that we would have to confer once more with our respective principals before we seal the texts,” she said. 

Meanwhile, Commission on Elections Commissioner and Committee on Ban on Firearms and Security Personnel chairman Elias Yusoph said the MILF is not exempted from the gun ban unless the GRP and the MILF peace panels issue a recommendation. – With Alexis Romero, Sheila Crisostomo