Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon said Wednesday he would recommend resumption of peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) only after the environment has "substantially improved."

In response to President Arroyo's dissolution of the government's peace panel with the MILF, the former military chief said a move by the MILF to turn over their "recalcitrant commanders," namely Umbra Kato and Commander Bravo, would be a good step in improving the environment for the talks.

'Minus that, it would be very difficult to talk to the MILF," he added.

Esperon said the attacks of these MILF commanders in parts of Mindanao starting last month "have altogether changed the environment."

"How can you expect the people of the Philippines, in general, to support peace talks when a group has just committed the murder of about 28 civilians? And so the environment has changed. This has led to the non-signing of the MOA and for the change of the paradigm of the peace talks with armed groups," he said.

"But if we will get a substantially improved environment, then as presidential adviser on the peace process, it would be my duty perhaps to recommend that we resume peace talks with the MILF," he added.

Esperon said the "recalcitrant" MILF commanders only come from three guerilla base commands, but there are "actually 14 other groups and the ceasefire with them stands."

"So the 3 have actually spoiled the whole process," he said.

Esperon said he supported the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) "because I thought sincerely that it would contribute to the solution to the Mindanao problem."

He is disappointed with the government's decision to no longer sign the MOA-AD, but he said his "disappointments should not count" and that "we should just simply work on as much as we could."

Now that the peace talks with the MILF have been put on hold, Esperon said the government will attend to other rebel groups like the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

Esperon said he will be taking over "all the administrative functions of the peace panel...for the meantime until a new arrangement is set up."

"Remember we still have the ceasefire committees and the secretariat itself, so until we set up, we compose the panel again, I will provide administrative support to the system," he said.

He reiterated the government's new policy of having "dialogues with communities", and that talks with armed groups will be within the context of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration or DDR.

"It is along these lines that perhaps we will have to recompose the panel itself," Esperon said. "We are not closing the peace process."

"The MOA itself is a step towards the formal peace talks as crafted. It was meant to be a stepping stone toward the formal peace talks. As indeed, we are not signing it anymore so we have to find ways, but at the same time, we have to look for an improved environment," Esperon said. -- report from WHENG HIDALGO, ABS-CBN News