MANILA, Philippines -- The Government of the Philippines (GPH) peace panel will embark on its second leg of consultations with local government units (LGUs) in western Mindanao today in its continuing effort to exercise transparency and inclusivity in the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The negotiating panel, headed by Marvic Leonen, will consult local chief executives of Basilan on May 16 and Sulu on May 18.

They will also be paying a courtesy call to Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat and other city officials on May 17.

Joining Leonen are panel members Senen Bacani, Miriam Coronel Ferrer, Ramon Piang Sr., and panel consultant Hamid Barra.

According to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), the series of consultations aims to solicit the views and sentiments of stakeholders on the GPH-MILF peace talks, as well as raise their awareness and engage them in the peace process discourse.

The first leg of LGU consultations was with local government officials of Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat on April 13 and 14, respectively.

To date, the government has conducted a total of 24 consultations with various sectors, such as the academe, indigenous peoples, government officials, civil society groups, media, and the military.

Consultations with local officials in other provinces in Mindanao will likewise be held in the upcoming weeks.

The next round of GPH-MILF exploratory talks is scheduled on June 27 to 28 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, wherein agenda will primarily include the presentation of the government’s draft peace settlement with MILF to address the decades-old conflict.

Meanwhile, the Silsilah Dialogue Movement, an interfaith group promoting deeper understanding and better relations between Muslims and Christians, gathered some 300 members, alumni, and friends to mark its recent 27th founding anniversary celebration at the Silsilah Auditorium in Harmony Village, Zamboanga City.

In her message, Zenaida T. Lim, vice president of the Silsilah Foundation, Inc. recounted how the movement changed her life as a person and grow in relationship with other people of different religions and cultures.

“Over the many years, I have spent with the peace movers of Silsilah, I have witnessed the difference… where before we viewed each other with the eyes of suspicion and hatred, we now express our views in terms of what we can do together to erase centuries-old social irritants between groups,” Lim said.

The year 2011 is also significant for the Silsilah Dialogue Movement as it also marks the 25th year offering of the Silsilah Summer Course on Muslim-Christian Dialogue.

To mark this milestone, alumni of past summer courses also gathered for the homecoming.

The occasion also launched a book entitled “25 and Counting,” which contains a directory of the nearly 2,000 Muslim and Christian students who have participated in the 25 summer courses over the years and the resource persons involved.

The book also contains reflections of alumni on their experiences of dialogue and how their perspectives of inter-religious relations have been influenced by their having been a student of the summer course. (With a report from PIA)