Governors’ league hails PH gov’t-MILF peace accord

MANILA, Philippines—The country’s governors has expressed support for the final drive for a peace settlement in Muslim Mindanao with the signing on Monday of preliminary framework agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Mindoro Oriental Governor Alfonso “Boy” Umali, president of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), said Wednesday the LPP fully supports the framework agreement, describing it as a “work of courage and a political document of hope that expresses the oneness of Christian and Muslim Filipinos.”

Umali, who also heads the local leagues’ umbrella organization, Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), added in a press statement: “Now that a historic breakthrough has been reached by the government and the MILF, there is no looking back. Enduring peace is the gift that our generation must bequeath to future generations.”

He hailed President Aquino’s “vision of peace that encompasses all Filipinos and their shared aspirations for economic growth, leaving no sector behind.”