The chief government negotiator in the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) set Tuesday three conditions to be met before the Aquino administration could consider changing the Constitution to resolve issues in the peace process. At the same time, a close aide of President Benigno Aquino III said the president is not keen on amending the 1987 Constitution anytime soon to forge a settlement with the 12,000-strong MILF. Secretary Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications Operations Office said Charter change is not included in Aquino's list of priorities. “The President has always said that he has never closed his doors to Charter change. He wants it done though for the right reasons and at the right time and under the right circumstances. At this point, we're really not there yet,” Carandang said. He also said any discussion on this issue would be speculative since peace negotiations with the MILF have not yet resumed. Carandang issued the statement after chief government negotiator Marvic Leonen told a foreign correspondents' forum last Monday that the government is open to amending the Constitution to reach a peace agreement with the MILF. Leonen also expressed optimism that the government would sign a peace deal with the MILF within six years, saying that the Aquino administration was prepared to offer “major concessions” to achieve its goal. On Tuesday, Leonen toned down his statement, saying the Aquino administration will only agree to amend the 1987 Constitution to facilitate a peace deal with the MILF if three conditions for Charter change are met – “necessity, feasibility and acceptability.” “In the ultimate analysis, we will look into the necessity, feasibility and acceptability of amending the Constitution. Introducing amendments to the Charter is no joke,” Leonen said in a radio interview. He said any amendment will be the result of exhaustive consultations not only with the MILF but with the other concerned sectors. Leonen said the government is ready to resume talks with the MILF at the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. Meanwhile, the MILF welcomed the openness of the Philippine government in amending the 1987 Constitution to reach a peace agreement in Mindanao. “We welcome the statement. It is a good development heading into the resumption of the peace talks, hopefully, after the Ramadan,” said MILF Vice Chairman for Political Affairs Ghazali Jaafar. Earlier, the MILF expressed willingness to resume negotiations even during Ramadan. Last week, Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the deactivated MILF panel, said the Constitution is one of the stumbling blocks towards the resolution of the Mindanao conflict.
