COTABATO CITY -- NEGOTIATIONS AIMED AT BRINGING the peace process between the government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front back on track have collapsed, but Malacañang was confident that the talks would soon move forward.

Eid Kabalu, civil-military affairs chief of the MILF, said Saturday its team of negotiators led by Mohagher Iqbal walked out of the informal talks in Kuala Lumpur Friday night because the government had backtracked on an earlier agreement over the issue of ancestral domain.

Kabalu said the government was trying to undo the agreement and that the MILF found this unacceptable.

But Press Secretary Jesus Dureza, who has been involved in peace talks with both Moro and communist rebels for over a decade, said differences were expected and that the government was hopeful the talks could resume soon.

“The peace talks are a continuing effort. In the latest talks in Kuala Lumpur over the past few days to finalize the draft agreement, there remain some differences,” Dureza said by phone from Manila.

He said he was sure that the negotiating panels would “continue to look for ways to hurdle the difficulties and move the process forward.”

The MILF has been insisting on the inclusion of at least 1,000 barangays in the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE), the planned Moro homeland.

The formal peace talks have repeatedly stalled on this issue over the years, the last time in December 2007.

Only on July 16, the government and the MILF announced a breakthrough in the informal talks brokered by the Malaysian government—an agreement on ancestral domain that included the expansion of the BJE to include areas already covered by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and around 700 more barangays.

Signing on Aug. 5 canceled

In a statement posted on its website, the MILF said its negotiators walked out when the government panel attempted to make changes in the agreement.

Iqbal said the government was “undoing” already settled issues.

According to the MILF statement, Iqbal and co-negotiator Michael Mastura left the venue of the talks “without saying a word.”

As a result, the formal signing of the agreement on ancestral domain scheduled on Aug. 5 has been canceled.

Quoting Iqbal, Kabalu said it was the government’s action that had caused the informal talks to collapse.

“It is the government’s choice. The MILF cannot be blamed on this,” Kabalu said.

A bump to resolve

Dureza confirmed that the issue of ancestral domain remained the stumbling block in the resumption of formal peace negotiations with the MILF.

He said the “government panel’s insistence” that “some kind of an enabling law” from Congress was necessary to implement the earlier agreement must have been the “breakaway point” in the talks.

“We look at milestones. Our negotiations go through humps and bumps. This is one of the bumps that we will have to resolve,” Dureza said.

“But the peace process continues in many ways, in various forms. There are setbacks. I was chair of the panel before, but eventually we were able to move forward because of the common objective of both sides to reach a peaceful settlement,” he said.

When told that Iqbal had blamed him for the collapse of the talks, Dureza said: “At this point, there’s no need for blaming because each one has a different position that we have to work on.”

He said he was awaiting the return of the government panel chair, Rodolfo Garcia, who was to make a report to Hermogenes Esperon, President Macapagal-Arroyo’s adviser on the peace process.

“Eventually we will be able to get a lowdown on what really happened,” he said, adding that this impasse was not “the end of the road” for peace efforts in Mindanao.

New watered-down draft

Garcia, a retired general, told Reuters that the two panels “had some disagreements when we were going over the final draft of the agreement on ancestral domain.”

“But I don’t think there is a complete breakdown of talks. I’m still hopeful that we can save the negotiations,” he said.

But in the statement posted on its website, the MILF quoted Iqbal as saying: “We have conceded much and [got] nothing in return from the government. Under these circumstances, the MILF sees it illogical and unreasonable to continue with the talks.”

The MILF said the meeting was intended only to finalize the text of the draft agreement on ancestral domain but that the government panel wanted at least two settled issues reopened.

This was how the MILF continued its account:

On Friday, the second day of the informal talks, the government panel said a Cabinet Security Cluster was holding a special meeting to discuss the issue of a plebiscite for the BJE.

The government wanted a longer period for the conduct of the plebiscite. The MILF agreed to extend the period from six months to one year.

After a short break, the two panels were called back to present their new formulation on the matter. But the government panel only restated its original position, saying that it was done presenting its position and no further explanation was required.

The government also handed to the MILF through the facilitator a new draft.

“The original version was watered down and, worst, the new draft omitted the timeframe of six months,” the MILF quoted its panel as saying.

It was then that the MILF panel decided to leave.

“How can we explain to our people and our commanders in the field the attitude of the government when [its] panel keeps on tinkering [with] or changing what has already been settled in signed documents?” Iqbal said.

Disadvantage

North Cotabato Vice Gov. Emmanuel Piñol said the government must have sensed that the draft agreement would put the people at a disadvantage.

“As a leader myself, I wish for lasting peace in Mindanao with an agreement that is for the people and not based on the demands of the MILF,” Piñol said.

The provincial board of North Cotabato, which Piñol heads, recently filed a petition asking the government to exclude the province from the proposed BJE.

“We have always wanted the continuation of the peace process based on inputs from the people. If they are expecting that we are rejoicing over [the collapse of the talks], they are wrong,” Piñol said.

He warned that with the collapse of the talks, the movement of MILF forces could intensify.

“We expect an escalation of violence, knowing that this is the mentality of the MILF in its efforts to blackmail and pressure the national government,” he said.

But Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Cotabato called on the two sides to find ways to resume the talks instead of issuing threatening statements.

“Let’s not kill [the peace process] with all our threats but revive it with our support and encouragement,” Bagaforo said.

“Let’s not be prophets of doom. The collapse [of the talks] is temporary,” he said, adding that the quest for lasting peace should continue to bring about a better life for all in Mindanao.

Escalation of hostilities?

In a statement issued to reporters in Camp Aguinaldo, Armed Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said the collapse of the informal talks “does not necessarily equate to escalation of hostilities.”

Torres said there were “other peace mechanisms in place,” referring to the ceasefire agreement between the government and the MILF and the joint monitoring teams.

At any rate, Torres said, “our troops in the area are always ready and capable of addressing any threat situation.”

On Friday, MILF guerillas stormed a village in Aleosan, North Cotabato.

Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesperson of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division in Shariff Kabunsuan, told the Inquirer that the rebels were led by Commander Wahid Tondoc of the MILF’s 105th Base Command.

He said Tondoc’s men harassed residents of Sitio Poypoyon in Barangay Bagolibas at around 3 p.m. and set at least 10 houses on fire.

“The problem with the rebels is that they are claiming they are for peace, but their followers’ actions on the ground are different,” Ando said.

But Kabalu denied that the rebels had deliberately torched the houses: “Our troops did not burn the houses. Those were hit by M-79 bullets. This should be blamed on the local militiamen. Instead of helping prevent further clashes, they wanted to create a scenario,” he said.

Reports from Allan Nawal, Edwin Fernandez, Charlie Señase, Jeffrey Tupas, Julie Alipala and Jeoffrey Maitem of Inquirer Mindanao, with Michael Lim Ubac and Alcuin Papa in Manila