Manila: The Philippines government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace negotiators have agreed to extend the mandate of the team monitoring the truce in Mindanao by another year.
The term extension for the Malaysian-led International Monitor Team (IMT) watching over the ceasefire in central Mindanao region up to 2013 was among the commitments sealed by negotiators during the 23rd Round of Exploratory Talks between the government and MILF that ended yesterday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Likewise, it was also a strong indication that the parlays are going well.
In a joint statement, negotiators from both sides said the exploratory talks that started on December 5, had touched on "substantive points" of the nearly decade-old on and off peace process.
"The parties continued their discussions on the substantive points for purposes of crafting a framework agreement," the joint statement, signed by Marvic Leonen for the government and Mohagher Iqbal for the MILF, said.
In extending the mandate of the IMT — which was supposed to expire by March 2012 — the negotiating parties also prolonged the effectivity of the Terms of Referrence of the Humanitarian Rehabilitation and Development Component (HRDC).
The HRDC was implemented three years ago as a measure to address the frequent displacement of local folk as a result of the frequent skirmishes between parties involved in the peace process. Both sides have also agreed to meet again in January 2012 for the continuation of discussions on issues.
