Mar 042014
 
(KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia) President Benigno S. Aquino III greets Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak upon arrival for the Meeting at the Perdana Putra Building in Putrajaya on Friday (February 28) during his State Visit to Malaysia. President Aquino and PM Najib are expected to discuss the upcoming signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. (MNS photo)

(KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia) President Benigno S. Aquino III greets Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak upon arrival for the Meeting at the Perdana Putra Building in Putrajaya on Friday (February 28) during his State Visit to Malaysia. President Aquino and PM Najib are expected to discuss the upcoming signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. (MNS photo)

PUTRAJAYA  (AFP) – The Philippine government and Muslim rebels will sign a peace deal to end one of Asia’s longest and deadliest insurgencies “by the end of March”, Malaysia’s prime minister said Friday after meeting his Filipino counterpart.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said President Benigno Aquino invited him to witness the ceremony when “the comprehensive agreement is due to be signed by the end of March”.

An official in the office of Aquino’s adviser on the peace negotiations confirmed the signing was targeted for the end of next month though no exact date has been set.

“The successful conclusion of the Mindanao peace process… makes possible the empowerment of all the peoples of Mindanao,” Aquino told reporters referring to the southern Philippine state where a decades-long rebellion has killed more than 150,000, mostly civilians.

Aquino was speaking to reporters in Malaysia’s administrative capital Putrajaya on his first visit to the neighbouring country.

The Philippine government and the 12,000-member Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) completed negotiations last month for a power-sharing arrangement with the nation’s Muslim minority in the south.

Muslim-majority Malaysia hosted the negotiations.

The deal aims to end an insurgency that began in the 1970s, killed tens of thousands and left large parts of the fertile southern Philippines mired in violence-plagued poverty.

But even Aquino’s peace chiefs have warned that the toughest stages, including implementing the deal, are yet to come after 18 years of stop-start negotiations.

They also include stamping out threats from renegade guerrillas and getting the support of hostile politicians and the nation’s highest court.

Oct 222013
 
Aquino to encourage more investments, renew ties on his first visit to Korea

President Benigno S. Aquino III answers questions from the media during the press briefing after gracing the 7th ASEAN Navy Chiefs Meeting (ANCM) at the Ballroom 2, Raffles and Fairmont Hotel in Makati Avenue, Makati City on Tuesday (September 10). With theme: “Partnership for Peace and Prosperity” to highlight the need for strengthened cooperation among the ASEAN Navies for peace, stability and progress in the ASEAN region. (MNS Photo). MANILA (Mabuhay) – President Benigno S. Aquino III on Thursday vowed to bring home more investments and forge stronger ties on his first state visit to South Korea. In his pre-departure speech, President Aquino underscored the importance of having renewed ties with South Korea whose nationals remain as one of the top tourists entering the country in recent years. “Tayo naman po ay tutungo ngayon sa South Korea, upang asikasuhin naman ang kinabukasan habang inaasikaso natin ang kasalukuyan. Alam po ng lahat na marami pong investors na galing sa Korea, layon po natin lalo pang dagdagan ang kanilang investments sa ating pong bansa,” President Aquino said. The President pushed through with his South Korea trip after visiting quake affected areas in the Central Visayas region. President Aquino said other key Cabinet members are now overseeing relief operations in devastated areas. “May mga nagtanong po kung dapat tayo tumuloy matapos ng nangyari na lindol sa Kabisayaan. Ang sagot po natin dito: Habang inaasikaso nga ho ang kasalukuyan, dapat naman ho siguro huwag natin pabayaan ang kinabukasan,” he added. The Chief Executive said Read More …