implementation. According to the Court, the peace panel and even the president do not have the authority to make such guarantees because they do not have the power to propose amendments to the Constitution, such power being vested exclusively in Congress. The junking of the MOA-AD marked another setback for the peace process, with the armed conflicts for the year 2008 reaching a record-high of 30 incidents in Mindanao. In an effort to salvage the negotiations, Arroyo declared the suspension of military operations against the MILF in July 2009. Resumption of peace talks under Aquino Presidency The administration of Benigno Aquino III resumed peace negotiations, the 20th round, with the MILF in February 2011, after the rebel group announced that they were no longer seeking secession from the Philippines. But the prospects for peace remained elusive as rogue MILF forces conducted sporadic attacks against government forces in several areas in Mindanao despite the existing ceasefire agreement. Worst of these attacks came on October 18, 2011, when MILF forces ambushed an Army contingent in Al-Barka, Basilan killing 19 young soldiers and wounding 12 others. Despite the MILF's half-hearted efforts to make these rogue leaders answer for their attacks, the president and the military hierarchy rejected calls for an all-out-war approach to this problem. The Al-Barka attack came just two months after Aquino’s controversial meeting with MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim in Tokyo. This gave rise to concerns that the real reason for the stalled peace process is not just the government's lukewarm effort to make peace, but also the lack of sincerity of the rebel groups in negotiating lasting peace with the government in Philippines military for 245. Women in the peace process Women played active roles in both the formal and informal negotiations in the Mindanao peace process that brought an end to open hostilities in 2014. Miriam Coronel Ferrer, who led the Filipino government's team in peace negotiations with the MILF, made history in becoming the first woman chief negotiator to sign to a major peace accord in history. Women also held a number of meaningful positions on the negotiating teams of both parties to the conflict. Women reportedly fostered communication between different tracks of negotiations. Civil society groups and women's groups conducted listening workshops for Bangsamoro communities and provided recommendations to the official track I negotiation process. The resulting peace agreement includes a number of gender-specific considerations