President Arroyo has named Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) undersecretary Rafael Seguis as the new head of the government panel talking peace with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The panel was previously dissolved when peace talks collapsed, following attacks by MILF commanders in Central Mindanao last August.

The violence was sparked after the Supreme Court (SC) stopped the signing of a memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD), leading the Arroyo administration to declare it would no longer sign the deal.

Seguis said that he is thankful to the President for giving him the opportunity to head the peace negotiations with the MILF.

"First of all I'd like to express my gratitude to the President for her trust and confidence in me that I would be able to carry out the responsibilities of the position she's appointing me to. As you know this is a tremendous challenge and opportunity which I humbly accept, knowing full well the difficult road ahead," he said in an interview on ANC's "Dateline" newscast.

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel welcomed the appointment of Seguis, calling him "a very capable diplomat."

Seguis has made the rounds of many Islamic countries, and once headed the DFA's Middle East and African Affairs bureau. He also represented the country in different meetings of the organization of Islamic conference, which has brokered negotiations between the Philippine government and the MILF.

Meanwhile, Seguis said that other members of his panel are yet to be named.--With ANC