Mohagher Iqbal, vice chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said there were people and groups espousing a “negative attitude” toward the Malaysian-brokered peace talks, which resumed under President Benigno Aquino III in February.

“But the real people or groups who can make and unmake this peace journey are those wielding power, authority and wealth — and most of them are in government,” Iqbal said.

“In short, the most powerful and well-entrenched ‘spoilers,’ if I may use the word, are mostly in the government.”

He said they are the decision-makers whose vested interests in mining, plantations, logging, banking, trading and other large enterprises on the resource-rich main southern island of Mindanao would be “radically affected or altered if there is a change in the status quo.”

Teresita Deles, the presidential adviser on the peace process, said “worrying about spoilers” is a “valid concern” for the rebels but everyone who has a stake in the settlement of the conflict should be given the benefit of the doubt that they are working for peace.

“The history of peace making in the world has shown that people giving up power and wealth on behalf of a higher goal is possible and has happened,” she told The Associated Press. “I do believe that people can rise above their personal or narrow interests.”

She added that a peace settlement would improve the climate for business development and make political decision-making easier for government officials.

Iqbal said the rebels’ peace proposal includes a 75-25 sharing of the resources of Mindanao, the country’s second-largest island, which is rich in marine, forest, and mineral wealth.

The rebels last year dropped their demand for independence and said they were pushing for the creation of a “substate” similar to a federal state that will not wield power over foreign affairs, national defense, currency and postal services.

Iqbal said only about 30 percent of Mindanao and nearby islands — the traditional Filipino Muslim homeland — would be included in the minority Muslim region.

Christian settlers from the central and northern Philippines have become the majority in the south following waves of migration after World War II.

More than 120,000 people have died in the decades-long conflict for Muslim self-rule. A cease-fire between the military and the 11,000-strong rebel group has largely kept the peace.