Military operations have already put pressure on a budget squeezed by disappointing privatization proceeds. Beefing up the military won't be enough to bring lasting peace to the south. A political settlement is also needed, say most observers. They feel that they are an ignored sector of Filipino society. Economic development is also seen as part of any long-term solution.
Donors are eager to fund development of potentially rich agricultural resources.
But it will be hard if aid workers' safety isn't guaranteed. The president says peace talks with the MILF can start if the rebels renounce their call for an independent state and lay down their arms, but the MILF has rejected his conditions. Secession in the Philippines is an impossible dream. There simply is no space in our geography, in our demographics, and in our national psyche for forcibly carving another state out of the present Philippine territory. It will have to improve on the limited autonomy deal given to four provinces under a peace accord signed by President Fidel Ramos in 1996 with the oldest Muslim rebel group, the Moro National Liberation Front.