MNLF and government to set talks on May

Photo:
MNLF – International Information Office/Facebook.com

President Duterte confirmed yesterday that talks with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) may start next month.

It was on Monday last week that the President had met MNLF founder Nur Misuari in Malacañang to discuss the current situation in Mindanao, and also to further pursue the peace process in the region. Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said that the meeting between the two leaders was “warm and cordial”.

It was Misuari who had become instrumental in the creation of an autonomous region in Mindanao. However, he was accused of being the perpetrator of the 2013 Zamboanga siege. Prior to the siege, he had been a critic of the peace talks between the government and one of its factions, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The MILF had expressed a rather different form of independence for the region.

As of the moment, the military is still launching its aggressive attacks against terrorist group Abu Sayyaf while the Bangsamoro Agreement between the government and the MILF are still in works.