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Philippines Set on Long-Term Solution for Mindanao: Arroyo
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said Saturday that her administration is adopting long-term economic solutions to peace and order problems in the southern island of Mindanao.
Arroyo said in a radio interview that the "Mindanao solution" is the full development of the island that is rich in natural resources.
The government recognizes the nation as a multi-ethnic society and whatever steps the government will undertake to achieve lasting peace in Mindanao will be based on the Constitution and the country's territorial integrity, she said.
She also said that part of the long-term solution is the modernization of the military and the police.
The president has earlier ordered the release of 10 billion pesos (about US$188.68 million) for the modernization program of the military, and 1 billion pesos (US$18.87 million) to the police for the purchase of modern surveillance and other equipment for crime prevention.
The recent massive crackdown on the Abu Sayyaf bandits and their supporters is the short-term solution, she said.
As of Saturday, 84 suspected Abu Sayyaf members and supporters have been arrested in the south since Arroyo ordered the crackdown on July 13, the local ABS-CBN news channel reported.
The military said earlier it had decimated the support base of the Abu Sayyaf group following the arrest of dozens of its members and supporters.
The Abu Sayyaf bandits are still holding more than 20 hostages in the southern island province of Basilan. They first kidnapped 20 hostages, including three Americans, at a resort in the western province of Palawan on May 27, and later abducted another 19 people in Basilan while escaping from the pursuing government forces.
Thirteen Filipino hostages have escaped or been released, while four others have been killed by their captors. The bandits also claimed to have beheaded American hostage Guillermo Sobero, but his body has not been found.
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