The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels are set to meet on February 18 and 19 to identify the next steps towards achieving a comprehensive, compact and a negotiated solution to the long-drawn armed conflict in war-torn Mindanao.

In a press briefing, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Anabelle T. Abaya said the GRP panel headed by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael E. Seguis and MILF panel headed by Mohagher Iqbal, will meet after the two sides exchanged draft proposals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Abaya said the exchange of draft proposals was “an important first step" toward the signing of a lasting peace agreement that would end decades of war in the south.

She said the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process will spearhead this Thursday a two-month massive consultation campaign among stakeholders all over the country to help in the peace efforts.

“There is only one way to peace and the resolution of conflict and that is through talking or negotiating,” she said.

“For the next two months, we will organize a massive consultation campaign with our stakeholders from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to help in the peace efforts,” she said. (Francis T. Wakefield)