Aquino's adviser assures no hidden agenda in rebel talks

Manila: President Benigno Aquino III's chief peace adviser has assured that the government would not sign any peace agreement with Moro rebels without prior consultation with the Filipino people.

"There are no hidden agendas when it comes to the government's negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) or with any group, for that matter," Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles said a statement issued by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

During a consultation meeting held in Zamboanga City on Friday, Quintos-Deles no final peace agreement will be signed without government making it known to the people first.

"The promise of the government is that before there is an initialling of a document that is to be signed, it is going to be publicized," she said.

The government is apparently avoiding a situation similar to that took place in August 2008 when peace negotiators hastily signed a document with the MILF recognising Moro ancestral domain claims over several dozen villages in Central Mindanao.

"(We are instructed to) learn from the lessons of the past. And the very recent past is the 2008 MOA-AD (Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain)," said Deles. The homeland deal was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court because of the lack of public consultations.

The document was rejected by the Manila-based central government and what followed as an outbreak of violence that nearly scuttled the peace process with the then government of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

"Our commitment is to come out with the best settlement the government has to offer. One that is reasonable and doable," Deles reiterated.

Quintos-Deles said the government does not want a repeat of that situation, and for that reason negotiators from both sides are making sure that all parties involved with Mindanao peace will be heard.

She said one tack is the conduct of a series of public consultations where the peace adviser was given an opportunity to explain and update civil society organisations on the latest developments on the peace process, as well as clarify issues raised by the attendees.

"We want to come out with a plan that addresses the concerns of the party we are talking to. Likewise, it should be something that can be accepted not just by the group we are negotiating with, but by the Filipino people. Something to be internationally seen as the best the government can offer under the circumstances," Deles said.

Deles added that they are working based on the principle of "consent of the governed."

The government and the MILF had engaged in peace negotiations for nearly a decade and a half.