The five-man peace panel of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) led by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael E. Seguis left for Kuala Lumpur Monday for the resumption of the stalled peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Sequis, chairman of the GRP peace panel, will make his opening statement in behalf of the Philippine government, while his counterpart, Mohagher Iqbal will speak for the MILF.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Annabelle T. Abaya has also been invited to attend the opening ceremony on Tuesday.

Other members of the GRP panel are Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, former Rep. Ronald Adamat, Tomas Cabili, and former Rep. Adelbert Antonino.

“We are ready (for the peace talks),” Seguis said before their departure for Malaysia.

The two-day negotiations will discuss the reactivation of the International Monitoring Team (IMT), establishment of the Ad Hoc Joint Civilian Component of the IMT, and renewal of the guidelines of the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) whose task is to coordinate the interdiction and isolation of criminal and lawless elements operating near or within the MILF communities.

The reopening of formal talks will be the first time that full panel-to-panel members from both sides will be present.

The resumption of the peace talks, it was recalled, became possible after both the chairmen of the GRP and MILF peace panels announced the establishment of the International Contact Group (ICG) that will pave the way for the formal resumption of the peace process.

The creation of the ICG is the second agreement among three confidence-building measures identified by the GRP and the MILF to resume talks.