The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is now open to the idea of autonomy as offered by the Philippine government, the rebel group's spokesperson told Gulf News recently. Eid Kabalu, MILF spokesperson, said in an interview that their group would agree to Manila's offer of Muslim self-rule .

"We can accept the offer of autonomy," he said, adding that this was on the condition that the people who would be affected would be given a choice between independence and autonomy. The MILF and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) are currently preparing for the formal resumption of peace negotiations which are likely to be held outside the country sometime this year.

Although the announcement by the rebel group that it is ready to accept self-rule may be a welcome development for Manila, the condition of the referendum, particularly the limited choice between independence and autonomy, is not expected to sit well with the government which has remained firm that the offered solutions to arrive at a negotiated peace in the south should not go beyond the ambit of the country's Constitution.

Government policymakers are adamant against allowing a certain group to secede, citing provisions in the country's statute that prohibits this. Nevertheless, the Constitution does not prevent the granting of autonomy or "self-rule", especially to ethnic groups, in this case, the Moro, or the native Muslim inhabitants of the southern main island of Mindanao.

Kabalu also said that the formal opening of the peace negotiations would likely be held in Libya with succeeding meetings taking place in different venues hosted by member nations of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

"We received last May 5 an invitation from Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi offering Tripoli as a venue for the opening of peace negotiations," Kabalu said. Manila-Moro peace negotiations have been previously held in Tripoli.

In 1976, the mainstream Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) signed a peace agreement with Manila representatives which paved the way for the establishment of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Although the 1976 Tripoli agreement was a significant step for the MNLF, the pact failed to temper hostilities as the Moro rebel group continued to fight security forces until 1996 when a revised agreement was signed with the Philippine government in Jakarta, Indonesia.