August 25, 2012: The 31st exploratory talks between the Philippine government (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has been reset in early next month to give way to the state funeral for the late DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo.

Robredo died in a plane crash in the waters off Masbate last August 18.

The postponement, upon the request of the government peace panel, was officially relayed to the MILF peace panel by Dato Tengku Abd’ Ghaafar bin Mohamed, the Malaysian facilitator, early last night.

Without the slightest hesitation, the MILF agreed for the postponement, saying the meeting in KL can wait but the state funeral (for Robredo) will only take once.

The original schedule for the next round of talks was set on August 27-30. Some of the members of the MILF peace panel were supposed to fly to Manila yesterday, but with the postponement, they cancelled their flights.

However, no fixed dates have been set for the next round of talks, although both parties were reported to have agreed in principle to have it on the first week of next month.

In the spirit of the peace process, the MILF  through Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the MILF peace panel, the MILF had extended an official condolence to the family and to the Aquino administration.

In his statement of condolence, carried by Luwaran, the official website of the MILF, Iqbal said these words:  “The death of Robredo is not only a loss the family, relatives and to the Aquino administration but also to the peace-making in Mindanao.”
He described Robredo as a strong supporter for the peaceful settlement of the Moro Question and the armed conflict in Mindanao.

Up in the agenda of the talks are transition mechanism for the new political entity, power-sharing, wealth-sharing, normalization, and basic. The two parties also created two technical working groups, one for power-sharing and the other for wealth-sharing.