MANILA, Philippines -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the president of the conglomerate San Miguel Corp., parent company of San Miguel Foods Inc., have been holding talks on the land dispute in Sumilao town in the southern province of Bukidnon, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said Friday.

Gonzalez said he was ?not part of the negotiating group? and did not know of the developments in the talks between Ms Arroyo and San Miguel president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang.

?What I know is that San Miguel, through Mr. Ang, assured the President that they will help resolve this problem,? Gonzalez told reporters in Malacañang. ?How they will do that, definitely it will have to go through the use [and] ownership of the property there.?

Asked whether this meant that San Miguel was ready to give up the property, Gonzalez said he did not know ?what kind of assistance they?re offering? in resolving the matter.

Ang, in a text message to the Inquirer, said: ?There was no meeting with Malacañang. San Miguel is still waiting for the copy of the executive order.?

Asked whether San Miguel Foods was likely to dispute the executive order issued by Ms Arroyo on Dec. 18, Ang merely said the company was waiting for an official copy of the document before issuing a statement on the issue. Reports from Christine O. Avendaño and Elizabeth Sanchez-Lacson