"Don't be too optimistic," Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panel, cautioned its political and military leaders in a consultation meeting in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur province.

"The devils in negotiation are in the details," Iqbal said, " One cannot simply say: 'I am optimistic on signing an agreement with the government,' or simply dash hope on it. Such attitude is plain and simple subjectivism."

Another MILF peace negotiator lamented that while he experienced dealing with capable government negotiators, no peace agreement had been signed.

Maulana Bobby Alonto said while the personality of the negotiator is a factor, it cannot solely determine the outcome of the negotiation.

"Maybe President Benigno Aquino III can be very objective this time," said Alonto.

Peace talks between the government and the MILF bogged down in 2008 after the Supreme Court outlawed an expanded Muslim homeland agreement that would have otherwise given the rebel group larger area of control.

Since the junking of the homeland deal, rogue MILF commanders attacked mostly Christian communities in North Cotabato, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, and Lanao del Norte provinces, displacing thousands of families.

During the lull in the peace talks, back-door negotiations continued until negotiations were revived in December 2009 under the government of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo after more than a year of impasse. Formal talks have yet to resume under the Aquino administration.

The MILF, with its some 11,800 guerrilla fighters, is the largest group battling for self-rule in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao. A final peace agreement is expected to end the protracted war in Mindanao that has claimed at least 120,000 lives, brought massive destruction to property, and crippled the region's economy.