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Former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Roy V. Seneres, incumbent chairman of the National Labor Relations Commission
(NLRC), Friday endorsed the UAE as a mediator in the resumption of talks
between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Seneres, himself a Mindanaoan, and an expert
in mediation, being a former labor attache in UAE, stressed that “it is a
basic principle in mediation that the party doing the mediation is completely
neutral.” He added that UAE passes this test coupled with the fact that the
Arab country and the Philippines have mountains of goodwill between them. Earlier,
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Eduardo Ermita announced that Malaysia will host and broker the resumption of peace talk
between the GRP and the MILF, along with Libya.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu confirmed to Riyadh Daily that steps are being
taken for resumption of negotiation in Malaysia. Kabalu said though there is no definite schedule
yet and if there is, it would only be the revival of back-channel talks for
the implementation of past accords signed by the GRP and the MILF. Malaysia and Libya have been instrumental in the peace process with
the MILF, the two OIC members having hosted and mediated negotiations in the
past. However, Seneres said a country with “chips on the shoulder” with the Philippines, which he said Malaysia is, cannot be expected to be completely neutral.
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