Manila - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo expressed anew yesterday her determination to forge a comprehensive peace settlement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), stressing that lasting peace in Mindanao is "one of the essential building blocks this nation can achieve to secure its future."
The President reaffirmed her commitment to peace in Mindanao during the 5th Biennial Convention and 10th Anniversary of the Chinese Filipino Business, Inc. early yesterday afternoon at the Centennial Ballroom of the Manila Hotel.
"We are close, yet sometimes the closer we get, the farther the distance seems to be," the President said, referring to the postponement of the scheduled Mindanao peace talks in Kuala Lumpur last December over disagreements on the contentious issue of ancestral domain.
The MILF has been waging a separatist rebellion in Mindanao since 1978, after it broke away from the larger Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) group.
The MNLF signed a peace accord with Manila in 1996 after dropping its demand for limited self-rule.
The MILF and the extremist Abu Sayyaf group were left out of the 1996 peace accord.
The President signed a cessation of hostilities agreement with the MILF in 2001, and later engaged the rebels in negotiations with the objective of signing a final accord.
For resource-rich Mindanao to reach its full economic potential, it must enjoy a stable and lasting peace, the President said.
Source: www.pia.gov.ph (18 Januari 2008)