DAVAO CITY - Incoming President Rodrigo Duterte said he expects long and contentious discussions towards achieving peace with communist and Muslim rebels and establishing a federal form of government.

Duterte admitted eradicating criminality, illegal drugs and corruption is a much easier task than reaching peace in the country’s strife-torn areas.

PASIG CITY, Apr. 13 -- The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) today pointed out that the Government of the Philippines (GPH) peace panel conducted and participated in 553 consultations among the various stakeholders of the Bangsamoro peace process from 2010 up until the completion of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) and the drafting of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).