MILF to get $30 M in US aid only if peace pact signed

President Arroyo said yesterday the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) can expect some $30 million in US aid after it signs a peace agreement with the government.

Meanwhile, Vice President Teofisto Guingona has deplored Malacañang’s inaction to a proposal to ask the help of Mindanao’s religious leaders in resuming peace talks with the MILF.

"It is unfortunate that while Filipino civil society groups like the Inter-Faith Peace Commission are offering to act as independent monitors of the long-sought ceasefire in Mindanao, some of our officials have even asked the Malaysian government to send monitors to Mindanao," he said in a statement.

Guingona, who is from Mindanao, said it is also "lamentable" that Americans versed in the secessionist problem would be reportedly sent to help the government negotiate peace with the MILF.

"Such so-called initiatives, no matter how well-meaning, only risk a further muddling of the issues that are at the root of the secessionist problem in Mindanao – among them poverty and perceived social inequality," he said.

Earlier, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., another Mindanao native, said the US could broker peace talks in Mindanao, similar to the role it played in Northern Ireland.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi met with Mrs. Arroyo at Malacañang yesterday to discuss Malaysia’s role in efforts to resume the peace talks.

Speaking at the 2003 Corporate Social Responsibility Week at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City, Mrs. Arroyo said the government would be granted another $20 million by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to sustain peace and development in Mindanao.

"Let me take this opportunity to welcome the development assistance of the United States relative to the peace process, at least $30 million this year, at least $20 million next year, even more once the signature, the ink on the final peace agreement (with the MILF) has dried," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo made the announcement a day after Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin, USAID administrator for Asia and the Near East, reaffirmed to her the US commitment to support the government’s effort to attain peace in Mindanao.

Mrs. Arroyo said the Philippine-US alliance against terrorism is not limited to a "military-to-military" cooperation.

"But even as we remain alert against terrorism, we must also remain prudent to peace, and government is open to peace," she said.

"With the help of official development partners, as they lend financial support to the search for peace, the search becomes easier."— Marichu Villanueva, Sammy Santos