MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine government expressed hope today to sign at least one of the three remaining annexes of the framework agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) when the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) resume next week in Malaysia.
Government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said that the government is determined to complete the annex on wealth-sharing when her panel meets with the MILF counterpart led by Mohagher Iqbal starting July 8.
She said that the government's proposal on wealth-sharing provides for a fiscal arrangement that is better than what exists in the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
"There will be more taxing powers and a more defined sharing of government resources on the whole, in keeping with the goal of having a strong and viable autonomous Bangsamoro governance," she said.
If things go well, Ferrer said that the government and the MILF, the largest Muslim rebel group in the country, might also be able to have a good working draft of the power-sharing annex with only few items left for resolution.
Aside from the wealth-sharing and power-sharing, the government and the MILF, have yet to complete the annex on normalization, which provides for a graduated program for decommissioning of MILF forces so that they are put beyond use.
Both sides signed last February the annex on transitional arrangements and modalities.
Ferrer said that during the talks next week, members of the Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT) have been invited for introductions and to convene for the first time as the third-party monitor that will review, assess, evaluate and monitor the implementation of the FAB and its annexes.
"The convening of the TPMT is another concrete indication that all is well in the peace process," she said.
According to its Terms of Reference, signed in January 2013 by the two parties, the TPMT will have an eminent person as chair, two persons coming from international non-government organizations, and another two members from domestic NGOs.
The identity of the members will be formally announced during the talks, she said.
Ferrer also called on stakeholders to be more vigilant amid misinformation surrounding the peace process.
"We have received disturbing text messages warning the resurgence in violence because allegedly the FAB has been scrapped. We ask the public not to take heed of this form of destabilization from segments who oppose the peace process," she stated.