Palace: Govt still in contact with MILF leadership

MANILA, Philippines - Despite the scrapping of an agreement on ancestral domain and the fighting that stemmed from it, the government claimed Wednesday it remains in contact with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front leadership. A Palace statement quoted Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita as saying the MILF leadership has expressed its desire to settle the Mindanao conflict through peaceful means. Ermita sought to dispel news reports saying the MILF would dissolve its peace panel after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo disbanded the government panel. He said the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAP) headed by Hermogenes Esperon Jr. was the overall in-charge of the peace negotiations with the MILF. But he said there are still some conditions that need to be ironed out before both sides go back to the negotiating table, one of which is for the MILF to account for the three MILF commanders who led the attacks and committed criminal acts against the populace. When asked to comment on MILF commander Bravo's claim he is willing to die fighting for independence, Ermita said the hard-line Moro rebel leader is considered a major criminal personality with a price on his head. -GMANews.TV