DAVAO CITY, Philippines - The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) welcomed the appointment of the new peace panel chief Miriam Coronel-Ferrer saying that she deserves the post.

Mohagher Iqbal, chief of the MILF peace panel, said he is pleased with the designation of Coronel.

"She deserved it and is capable to handle the task, besides her being the vice chairwoman of the government peace panel right now," Iqbal said.

Iqbal expressed his optimism that the new peace panel chief would further bolster the significant progress in the negotiations.

"I wished her luck and looked up for more strides in the talks under her stewardship," Iqbal said.

The Moro rebel leader explained that having a woman counterpart would not affect the talks. He added that in the Moro tradition and good practices, males must not argue with women.

Iqbal however clarified that the negotiation is not about argumentation but on the discussion and the crafting of solutions for the various issues and concerns in the talks. - Rappler.com