Mindanao peace tops agenda of Arroyo Cabinet meet
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 01/06/2009 12:01 PM
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Lasting peace in Mindanao through the peace process topped the agenda of the 24th full Cabinet meeting of President Arroyo Tuesday.
Mrs. Arroyo convened the meeting, the first for the year 2009, in her ancestral house in Iligan City. In her opening statement, the President called on all stakeholders in Mindanao including local government officials, religious groups, nongovernment organizations, separatists and federalists to be involved in the peace process.
"The start of 2009 should mark the renewal of sustained, intense, and vigorous efforts to ensure the fulfillment of the government�s Mindanao agenda, an agenda of two main planks and anchored on two P's - peace talks for all and projects for peace," she said in her speech.
"Our objective is to realize the century-old quest for lasting peace. From the wreckage of war, we will fashion implements for progress and lasting peace," she added.
She also unveiled a number of projects for Mindanao including agribusiness processing zones and a campaign against illiteracy and poverty in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
She said the start of 2009 should mark a renewal of sustained efforts to achieve lasting peace in Mindanao.
Before the meeting, Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman Sr. told media that the Cabinet was expected to approve a proposal for the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
He said he expects formal peace talks to resume immediately, possibly within the month or the first quarter of the year. RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News
