Tripoli, Libya. Meetings between the Philippine Government Panel and the MNLF Panel. Members of the Philippine Panel were Defense Undersecretary Carmelo Barbero, Ambassadors Lininding Pangandaman and Pacifico A. Castro, Commissioner Simeon Datumanong, SPDA Administrator Karim Sidri and Col. Eduardo Ermita. The MNLF panel was composed of Nur Misuari, Hashim Salamat, Abdul Baki and Hasani.
At the Tripoli talks, which took place on December 15-23, 1976, Carmelo Z. Barbero, Undersecretary of National Defense headed the Philippine Government Panel. His vice chair was Amb. Lininding Pangandaman; the other members were Commissioner Simeon Datumanong and SPDA Administrator Abdul Karim Sidri.
Prof. Nur Misuari led the MNLF side. His members were Salamat Hashim, Abdulbaki Abubakar and Abdurasad Asani. Also with them were their legal counsels Atty. Zacaria Candao and Atty. Pangalian Balindong of Lanao del Sur.
This phase of the talks produced the Tripoli Agreement. Aptly entitled Agreement Between The Government Of The Republic Of The Philippines And The Moro National Liberation Front With The Participation Of The Quadripartite Ministerial Commission Members Of The Islamic Conference And The Secretary General Of The Organization Of Islamic Conference, it came in three original versions, English, Arabic and French, all equal in legal power. The Agreement is not self-executory; details in many provisions had to be threshed out before the entire document could be implemented. A Mixed Committee was tasked to do exactly this.
A provision for ceasefire to take effect not later than January 20, 1997, was also in the document.
This was December 21. Pres.Marcos authorized the acceptance of the 13 as lone as there is a provision “subject to the constitutional processes of the Republic of the Philippines.”
Source: Fidel V. Ramos, Break not the Peace: the story of the GRP-MNLF peace negotiations, 1992-1996