Palace hopes to sign 'framework agreement' with MILF this year

MANILA - Malacañang expressed optimism on Wednesday that the Philippine government will be able to forge a framework agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) within the year.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the Palace is counting on the statement of government chief negotiator Marvic Leonen that a framework agreement is already within reach.

"We are very confident that they will be able to bring home a framework agreement. I'm sure Marvic Leonen will not be issuing a statement unless he is confident that a framework agreement is in sight," Lacierda said.

While Lacierda is not aware of the details of the agreement, he said that the government expects it to be signed this year.

"We are very hopeful that we will have a signing before the end of the year," he said.

Leonen is expected to report to President Benigno Aquino III regarding the framework agreement, added Lacierda.

In a statement issued by Leonen as the 32nd formal exploratory talks in Kuala, Lumpur, resumed Tuesday, he said the government expects something "historical" to take place in relation to the peace talks in the next few days.

He said he was confident that a peace settlement on the decades-old Mindanao problem could be at hand soon.

"We are on the brink of layering the written predicates that can frame the process of building trust as we usher in an era of peace, of hope and of recovery," he said.

Asked if the Palace sees any hindrances to the agreement, Lacierda said "so far we have not seen any, and the discussions have been ongoing."

He added that the government has learned from the lessons of the botched Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain Aspect (MOA-AD) and they are cognizant of the actions to be taken regarding the peace talks.

During the talks, MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal echoed the government's "guarded optimism," in his own opening statement and acknowledged that "the negotiations is now on the home stretch and the smell of success is reinforced every day."

"Remember that negotiations, contrary to what many believe, is a risky business. If we cannot conclude it soon successfully, now that we are at the brink of the exercise, we will be in trouble," Iqbal said. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)