MANILA, Philippines -- Malacañang on Wednesday acknowledged "flaws" in the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain ((MOA-AD) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and said it is willing to do a "thorough review" and seek "further negotiations" with the secessionist group on the controversial accord.

But Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita refused to describe any further talks on the MOA-AD as a "renegotiation," as ranking government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, had called it earlier.

At the Department of Foreign Affairs, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza told ambassadors that the government will not sign the MOA-AD in its present form even if the Supreme Court lifts the temporary restraining order it issued against the inking of the compact.

But presidential adviser on the peace process Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who was the same briefing, refused to comment on the matter, saying the Supreme Court should first decide on the issue.

"That [not signing the MOA-AD] is in the range of options. We will talk about that later on...We want the case dismissed," Esperon said.

A Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net) report from Iligan City said Mindanao's governors and mayors would meet with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Thursday to discuss the MOA-AD.

A Malacañang official confirmed this.

Talk of the renegotiation came a day after Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking the dismissal of the petitions questioning the legality of the MOA-AD.

The MOA-AD will pave the way for the creation of the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, which seeks to expand the current ARMM with the addition of more than 700 villages.

But Ermita insisted that "renegotiation has a different connotation.”

“Aba 'pag sinabi mong renegotiation, the possibility of every item bubusisiin na naman. Pag ni-review lamang, eh di magpapaliwanagan kung ano ba ang dapat ituwid [When you say renegotiation, the possibility is that every item will being thoroughly examined again. If it is only a review, then you just explain to each other what needs to be corrected,]" Ermita told reporters in an interview after his weekly news conference.

Ermita also said a "review" of the MOA-AD means there is no need to strike it down, as pending petitions before the Supreme Court want.

"The issuance by the honorable court of a temporary restraining order [TRO], coupled by present conditions in some areas in Mindanao, dictate that the MOA, in its present form, must undergo a thorough review," Devanadera's petition said. "In fact, the executive department will pursue further negotiations with the MILF to address the issues hurled against the MOA."

"You noticed that the language says it will undergo further review and that the negotiations shall be further undertaken with the end view of reaching a final peace agreement, so there is no need to strike down the MOA,” Ermita explained.

“Now we will have to await what the Supreme Court's response will be to the manifestations of the Solicitor General's office," he added.

Asked if the move was a recognition flaws exist in the accord, Ermita replied: "I think it goes without saying, when they said there will be a thorough review and that they will pursue further negotiations, [it] indicates that the flaws that may have been observed in the existing MOA need to be reviewed in light of the things that came out as a result of the petitions submitted before the Supreme Court."

Ermita and Dureza also linked the necessity of reviewing the MOA-AD to recent attacks by MILF forces following the issuance of the TRO against the MOA-AD and the strong reaction from various sectors against the agreement.

"The government's position now on that is that we would like to further [conduct] negotiations," Dureza said.

"It is a reality that they [MILF] cannot control their people. If they cannot control their people and they validate that, and you enter into an agreement, then you will have a problem," Dureza said.

The MILF had chosen to ignore the TRO, saying it considers the MOA-AD a "done deal" regardless of the high court's decision.

But Dureza said the "impatience" of MILF members over the aborted MOA-AD signing did not "justify" what he called the "barbaric" acts of the rebels.

"There is even no basis for them to go into these atrocities now just because they are impatient. Will we understand them killing people and burning houses? Does their impatience justify these acts? These are barbaric acts that they did," Dureza said.

Ermita said it was important to consider in the review of the MOA the various reactions of different sectors and the earlier opinion of some Supreme Court justices that the agreement is unconstitutional.

Several opposition leaders have also warned that signing the MOA-AD could be grounds for filing an impeachment case against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Arroyo has tapped the Bishop-Ulama Forum to help explain the contents of the MOA-AD and make it more acceptable to the public.

Ermita said presidential peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. has informed Malaysia, which is facilitating the peace talks with the MILF, about the need to review the MOA-AD.

"Indeed there are major items that need to be reviewed in the MOA if we want to come up with [something] more acceptable to the public," he added.