MANILA, Philippines – Following initial formal talks on the Bangsamoro peace process between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippine government in Malaysia, the two panels will again meet on August 30 in Davao City.

Peace Process Adviser Jesus Dureza said on Monday, August 15, that the date and venue were among the details finalized during the two-day talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The joint statement released by both panels that day announced that the “venue of the next meetings will henceforth be in the Philippines with the closure of negotiations phase and the onset of the implementation stage” in the Bangsamoro peace process.

At this stage, reads the joint statement, the priority of the panels will be for the “immediate re-constitution of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission,” the body in charge of drafting a law to replace the failed Bangsamoro Basic Law.

The panels decided in Malaysia to expand the BTC to 21 members from the original 15 to allow more Mindanao-based groups to participate.

The two sides also plan to immediately hold a “joint strategic planning session” in order to better craft the new Bangsamoro law draft.

The talks in Malaysia, led by Philippine government peace panel chair Irene Santiago and MILF Chairman Alhaj Murad Ebrahim, ended on a “high and positive note” on August 14, said Dureza. – Rappler.com