Manila: The Philippine government has said it will hold peace negotiations with a group led by Nur Misuari which are separate from parlays undertaken with other major Moro rebel aggrupations.

In a statement released on Thursday, Secretary Jesus Dureza, President Rodrigo Duterte’s chief peace adviser, said the government will handle the issue concerning Misuari and his men separately from talks being held with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) faction led by Muslimim Sema and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The MNLF founder in 1996 signed a peace agreement with the government of President Fidel Ramos. He was later elected to head the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

However, sometime in the latter part of 2000, dissension in the MNLF’s ranks saw top members criticise his leadership style, resulting in a group — later known as the MNLF Council of 15 — distancing itself from Misauri and removing him as leader of the MNLF. Sema then became the leader of the larger MNLF faction which recognised the 1996 peace agreement.

Misuari, on the other hand, was detained and freed later on by the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The Moro leader reverted to his non-conformant ways and fought the government occasionally, finally seeking refuge in his native Sulu.

But last week, Misuari came out in the open and met with President Rodrigo Duterte. The meeting turned out to be a breath of fresh air for the peace process in Mindanao.

According to Dureza, the concerns of the group of MNLF-Misauri faction will have to be handled separately from those of the MILF and the MNLF-Sema faction.

Misuari, who was charged with leading the September 2013 rebellion in Zamboanga City, was temporarily freed by the courts to enable his participation in the Bangsamoro peace process.

He opted not to take part in the newly-constituted Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) made up of government, MILF and MNLF representatives.

The BTC is charged with the task of drafting a law that would embody Moro self-governance.

Dureza said Misauri’s MNLF faction will form its own five-person panel that the government will soon engage with in peace negotiations.

This panel will work on the completion of the remaining commitments under the 1996 Final Peace Agreement and the recently-concluded Tripartite Review Process on the peace deal between the government, the MNLF, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Both the BTC and the Misuari panel will submit their respective proposals on an enabling law for Mindanao to legislators, allowing them to reconcile the proposals.

“We will engage with his panel by coming up with input that, later on, will be submitted to Congress,” Dureza expounded, adding that Misuari’s decision was based on his “principled position” in the peace process.

“Misuari has a principled position since the BTC is a mechanism of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB),” Dureza said. “Of course, you should understand that Misuari makes reference to the government’s and the MNLF’s 1996 Final Peace Agreement. He has not yet abandoned that agreement,” Dureza clarified.

Following the release of the court order for his temporary freedom, Misuari flew directly from Sulu to meet Duterte in Malacanan Palace on November 3. This was at the invitation of the President and aimed at boosting the peace process in Mindanao.

Misuari affirmed his commitment on Duterte’s thrust to bring permanent peace to Mindanao and added that his participation was also a welcome development for the Abu Sayyaf, a Sulu- and Basilan-based group frequently linked to banditry.