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Manila: The Philippines Government on Wednesday said it is ready to resume stalled peace talks with Moro rebels "without preconditions".
Ambassador Rafael Seguis, newly appointed chair of the negotiating panel in talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said the government is preparing to "move forward" in a bid to reinforce its commitment to peace through negotiations.
"But it takes two to tango," Seguis stressed while pointing out that government is not setting any preconditions for resuming peace negotiations with the MILF.
Seguis issued the statement a day after President Gloria Arroyo, during a Cabinet meeting in Iligan City in Mindanao, talked about her government's new formula to attain peace in Mindanao through the so-called "Two Ps" formula.
The letter P in Arroyo's formula stand for "Peace Talks for All, and Projects for Peace."
Arroyo's formula aims to attain peace in Mindanao by bringing progress to the main southern island.
In a move to emphasise government commitment to peace through negotiations, Arroyo has reconstituted its panel in talks with the MILF last month by appointing Seguis, a seasoned diplomat and a native of Mindanao.
Seguis said the composition of the panel has been completed with the appointment of Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman representing the Muslims, General Santos Mayor Adelbert Antonino representing the local government and the Christian community, and sectoral representative Ronald Adamat from Maguindanao representing the indigenous sector.
Dispute
The government and the MILF have been talking peace since 2001 but negotiations slowed down last August amidst a debate over the issue of government's recognition of the Moro's ancestral domain rights over territories in areas of Mindanao, Palawan and Sulu.
As a result, talks are now in limbo with either side unable to take concrete steps to return to the negotiating table without a third party.
Malaysia, which played the role of a third party facilitator in the talks, has shown increasing exasperation over the lack of progress. It has criticised the both sides for failing to reach a compromise.
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