Malaysian gov’t asked: Expedite MILF talks

DAVAO CITY — The Bishops and Ulama Conference (BUC) is asking the Malaysian government to expedite the resumption of the formal peace negotiations with the 12,500-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Former Lanao del Norte governor Mahid Mutilan, president of the Ulama League of the Philippines, said the BUC will send a letter of appeal to the Malaysian government to work out the immediate resumption of the formal peace talks.

"The peace (talks are) dependent on the efforts of the Malaysian government which acts as host and mediator," Mutilan said during the 24th BUC general assembly here early this week.

The BUC gathering, held at a local hotel, was attended by over a hundred Catholic and Christian bishops as well as Muslim ulamas from all over Mindanao.

Both the government and the MILF panels earlier expressed their readiness to resume the peace negotiations, but said they were still awaiting word from the Malaysian government on the exact date.

The formal peace negotiations have been stalled for almost three years following disagreements over issues on ancestral domain.

"Copies of the letter will also be furnished to both the MILF and the government panels," said Mutilan, one of the three convenors of the BUC, along with Davao Archbishop and Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines president Fernando Capalla and United Church of Christ of the Philippines Bishop Emeritus Hilario Gomez Jr.

"Even as we laud the efforts done by all panels and persons concerned, we strongly urge them to return to the negotiating table to continue the... talks that were stalled because of unavoidable circumstances," the BUC said in a statement at the closing ceremonies of their general assembly.