TWO governors in Mindanao have expressed reservations on the capability and purpose of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in leading a Bangsamoro substate, whose creation it has proposed to the government in the ongoing peace negotiations.

The doubts were aired by Tawi-Tawi Gov. Sadikul Sahali and Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan, as negotiators from the MILF and the government met for the second- straight day on Tuesday in Malaysia in an effort to strike a peace deal.

“The real question is about the character of this association and the system in which they are aimed,” Sahali said, adding, “in some provinces, the MILF has no commanding presence.”

“They are not even organized for us to consider them. I know these things because I have been a municipal mayor in Tawi-Tawi for three or four years,” the governor said.

Sahali recently spoke in a regional forum titled “Consolidation for Peace for Mindanao” that was held at the University Sains Malaysia in Pulau, Penang, Malaysia, where he expressed doubts on the MILF leadership’s “character” and “system.”

Still, the governor is confident that the government and the MILF can forge a peace agreement.

“I believe that the President will succeed. I believe that the MILF will settle with something that is possible for the government to give. I believe that there will be substantial reforms in the ARMM [Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao].”

“Peace and progress are coming to Mindanao… it is the understanding that gives us the ability to have peace. When we understand the other’s viewpoint, then we can sit down and work out our differences,” he said.

In his opening statement during the resumption of the talks on Monday, Marvic Leonen, chairman of the government panel, encouraged the MILF panel to focus on substantive issues and “explore common grounds.”

“We acknowledge that the issues that we tackle now are the more difficult ones, but we are optimistic that we can find mutually viable solutions,” he said. “Let us redouble our efforts to conclude these negotiations in the soonest possible time. The sooner, the better.”

Sahali noted that the substate or what the MILF referred to as “Bangsamoro homeland” will still be under the government, but will have the power to exercise all government functions, except those of foreign affairs, national defense, currency and postal services.

He said that if this will happen, “the kind of autonomy in this country is going to be a federal setup.”

“How can we be sure that those [MILF] leaders are to lead a federal leadership?” he said.

Sahali believed the improvement of Mindanao does not depend on the system of government.

“It is rather about character. It is about attitude. It is in the person that improves other people’s lives. It is not a one-way process,” he said.

Tan, who was present during the regional forum, delivered the same sentiments.

“Now, there are talks about federalism, grant of another autonomous region. We talked about vehicles and being at the driver’s seat. We know for a fact that one of the requirements of our brothers from the MILF is that we come up with a vehicle and put them behind the steering wheel and at the driver’s seat,” he said.

Tan also said his province and other areas in Mindanao must have equal share or at least benefit from the natural resources and minerals found in their jurisdictions like the oil exploration in the Sulu Sea and the natural gas reserves in the Liguasan Marsh in Maguindanao.

“While I state full support for oil exploration in the Sulu Sea, the benefits that the province and its people can partake from the exercise cannot and should never be understated. The sharing system must be fair and adhered to by all parties and that Sulu’s portion will be put to meaningful use by the massive development such share can generate for the welfare and benefit of the people,” he said.

The Sulu governor said the aspirations for peace and security in the region can only be realized in synergy with dynamic and meaningful development strides in areas perceived restive or considered “conflict-vulnerable.”

He said he was speaking with moral ascendancy being the local chief executive of Sulu.

“I view events in Sulu with full awareness of its history and the vantage role the province can perform in furtherance of regional peace and security and development,” Tan said.

Meanwhile, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles encouraged stakeholders to support or “accompany” the peace process.

“We all know [that] the government-MILF peace negotiation is reaching the substantive stage,” she said in a statement that was released by her office. “The three-day peace negotiations will be very hard discussions. So let’s accompany them.”

Deles expressed hopes that the government and the MILF will end the formal talks on a positive note.

“We want to have good news announced at the end of the talks so we can sustain gains in the peace table, move forward, and draw near to achieving a political solution to the decades-old armed conflict,” she added.

With Z. Solmerin