UP College of Law dean Marvic Leonen will be the government's chief negotiator in the resumption of peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Malacanang announced Thursday. President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, who is currently in Tuguegarao City to visit in the wake of soldiers killed in action, said in a statement that he is committed to a consultative peace process so he has appointed Leonen – who he said understands the country's history, different cultures, and aspirations – to head the government panel that will negotiate with the secessionist group. The Arroyo administration's peace efforts with the MILF were jeopardized in late 2008 when the Supreme Court barred the signing – and eventually ruled as unconstitutional – of a memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain between the government and the MILF expanding the ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao). The government was also told to conduct public consultations. “We are committed to learning form the past. I think it is not only what the Supreme Court said in relation to the MOA-AD but also to the process that happened that time,” Leonen said during a press conference in Malaca?ang Thursday. Leonen, a constitutional expert who specializes in land issues, has taken part in convening a consortium of universities, many of which were from Mindanao, to examine the next phase of the peace process under the new administration. “During our watch, we will be faithful to the Constitution,” he said. Aquino said he views the peace negotiations as a dialogue to ensure that there will be lasting solutions in conflict-ridden Mindanao. “We will learn from the mistakes of the past by ensuring that consultations be done at the soonest and most appropriate time with all the constituencies of the government of the Republic of the Philippines. This includes not only the peoples in Mindanao but also the local governments involved, the legislature and those who keep watch over the pronouncements of our Supreme Court,” Aquino said in a statement distributed to reporters. Also at the same Palace press conference, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said the president has approved the establishment of an advisory body to the peace panels on the MILF and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) which will be formed soon. The advisory body will be composed of lawmakers, members of the 1987 Constitutional Commission, retired justices of the Supreme Court, representatives of local governments, and former chairpersons of government negotiating panels, Deles said. “As well, we will be convening an assembly of civil society peace advocates from different parts of the country to determine the structures and mechanisms by which we can ensure sustained consultation and engagement involving the full range of concerned sectors, communities, and peace constituencies,” she said. Leonen has “earned the respect of the peoples in Mindanao” because of his efforts to engage the academe and marginalized sectors and communities in resolving issues, Deles said. Deles said Aquino has also directed Leonen and his team to review all past agreements and records of talks and documents exchanged by the previous government and MILF panels. Leonen said no timetable has been set for the peace negotiations. “In negotiations, you cannot give deadlines,” he said, adding that the government panel will conduct the negotiations in “good faith” and that he expects the MILF leadership to do the same. Deles said she expects the peace panel to begin talks with the MILF in the first quarter of the Aquino administration.
