COTABATO CITY – As President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ended her working visit today, she left behind a challenge for the people of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and South Central Mindanao to rise above themselves and help government pursue its peace and development thrusts for Mindanao.

The President flew to Malabang, Lanao del Sur shortly before 10:00 a.m. to end the fourth leg of her eight-day working stay in Mindanao, also leaving a wish for City Mayor Muslimin Sema and the people of this city a successful commemoration of their 44^th founding anniversary on June 20.

During her hectic working stay in the area starting Friday, the President flew by helicopter to Pagalungan and S.K. Pendatun towns in Maguindanao.

In Barangay Inug-ug, Pagalungan, she was joined by former President Corazon C. Aquino; national and local officials; business, civic, religious and youth leaders; schoolchildren; and thousands of residents in the declaration of the once war-affected village into a sanctuary of peace.

In her speech, the President reiterated her Freedom Day message and exhorted Mindanaons to emulate the country’s national heroes who dared every challenge from oppressors to achieve the country’s freedom.

But more than this, she said, the Filipino people, particularly those from Mindanao, should attain "freedom from fear, inadequacy and injustice."

"In your desire for your place to become a sanctuary of peace, you would be free as desired by your hearts," she added.

In S.K. Pendatun, the President inspected the P1-million two-horsepower solar-powered irrigation project in Barangay Sumagubay.

The irrigation project, implemented by the National Irrigation Administration, waters some six hectares of farmland tilled by at least 60 farmers.

She also took time to be with some 14,000 persons who sought the safety of evacuation centers in the town following recent armed clashes between the military and the separatist rebels.

The evacuees came from war-affected areas of Pagalungan, Pagagawan and Sultan sa Barongis towns, also in Maguindanao; Pikit and Tulunan, both in Cotabato; and Lambayong in Sultan Kudarat.

From S.K. Pendatun, the President went to the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division under Major General Generoso Senga where she gave a press briefing during which she declared that the government’s doors for negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) remained open.

She told media that the government desired a permanent ceasefire with the MILF, but not one without preconditions.

The rebels should show sincerity, goodwill and remorsefulness if they really wanted a ceasefire, she added.

After the briefing, she motored to nearby Barangay Tamontaka in Cotabato City where she was joined by United States Ambassador Francis Ricciardone in opening the newly completed P1.1-million warehouse and solar dryer.

The two post-harvest facilities will benefit erstwhile Moro National Liberation Front combatants turned productive citizens.

The facilities were built under the Livelihood Enhancement and Peace Program of the US Agency for International Development.

The President then went to the ARMM complex where she announced the activation of the ARMM Unified Command under the Southern Command, the formalization of the Shariah (Islamic courts) system in the region and the participation of ARMM Regional Governor Parouk Hussin in all Cabinet meetings.

Magandang araw sa lahat ng ating mga tagapakinig. Naglilibot ako sa Mindanao sa loob ng isang linggo upang sumang-ayon sa tapat kong hangarin na makamit ng taga Mindanao ang lubos na kapayapaan at kaunlaran. Nauunawaan ko ang kanilang damdamin at kalagayan sapagkat noong ako ay bata pa matagal akong tumira sa Iligan. Ito rin ang dahilan kung bakit malapit sa aking puso ang Mindanao at ako ay laging nasiyahan tuwing ako ay bumabalik sa Katimugan.

Subalit ang hangad nating kapayapaan at kaunlaran sa Mindanao ay hindi lamang para sa kagalingan ng mga tagaroon kundi ng buong sambayanan. As I have said many times before, I believe that unless we as a people come to terms with Mindanao, we will never attain our full promise as a nation.

Sa aking pagtigil sa Mindanao ng walong araw, inaasahan kong maisulong ang prosesong pangkapayapaan at itaguyod ang rehabilitasyon ng mga lugar na apektado ng kaguluhan doon. Titiyakin ko rin na ang mga programa ng pamahalaan, tulad ng Mindanao National Initiative o Mindanao Natin, ay nasa tamang direksyon at ipinatutupad sa paraang makapagdudulot ng mabilis na kapayapaan at maraming pakinabang sa mahihirap nating kababayan.

Ang Mindanao ay nasa gitna ngayon ng paglaban sa terorismo at kahirapan, gamit ang ibat-ibang kakayahan na galing sa loob at labas ng ating bansa. Mula sa aking pagdalaw kamakailan sa Estados Unidos, Korea at Japan nakapag-uwi ako ng mahalagang tulong pinansyal na magdudulot ng kabutihan para sa Mindanao.

Halimbawa mula sa Amerika, nakakuha tayo ng $96 milyon para sa development assistance at kaligtasan ng mga bata na pinakamahihirap sa mga lugar ng labanan at 2/3 dito ay gagamitin sa Mindanao; $74 milyon para sa ibat-ibang proyekto ng USAID sa Mindanao, at $50 milyon na tulong sa ating prosesong pangkapayapaan. Malaking bahagi ng $100 milyon tulong mula sa Korea ay sa Mindanao mapupunta. Doon sa Lagindingan Airport sa Northern Mindanao. At ang Japan naman ay nagbigay ng dagdag na pondong $20 milyon para sa mga proyekto ng ARMM.

Sa aking pag-ikot sa Mindanao, nakita ko ang ilan ng mahalagang proyekto na ginagastusan ng mga pondong tulad nito. Itong araw na ito nakaschedule doon sa Sultan Gumander, Lanao del Sur ay ang groundbreaking ng isang malaking malaking proyekto ng kalsadang na pinopondohan ng Kuwait. Ito ay $20 milyon ang buong Kuwaiti fund na pinanggagalinangan ng ibang mga proyekto apat yata ito. May groundbreaking na ring nagawa para sa Terminal Building ng Polloc Port sa Cotabato City na nagkakahalaga ng P10 milyon

Ang Mindanao Natin ay isang programang sadyang inilunsad para sa kaunlaran ng Muslim Mindanao. Ang rehiyong ito ang pinakamahirap na lugar sa ating bansa, na sinasabing pinanggagalingan ng mga kinukuhang terorista. Kaya naman, pinagtutuunan natin ito ng higit na pansin at bunubuhusan ng tulong para sa ganun aahon naman sila sa buhay at magkaroon naman sila ng ibang hanapbuhay maliban lamang sa magiging utusan ng mga terorista.

Nasaksihan ko ang ginawang santuwaryo ng kapayapaan ng Tabang Mindanaw sa Barangay Inug-ug, doon sa Pagalungan, Maguindanao. Ang komunidad ay hindi masasangkot sa labanan ng mga rebelde at militar upang manumbalik sa normal ang pamumuhay ng 300 pamilyang naroroon. Sa isa pang bayan ng Maguindanao, tiningnan ko naman ang kalagayan ng mga nandoon sa evacuation center sa SK Pendatun at tiniyak ko na aasikasuhin ng pamahalaan ang kanilang rehabilitasyon bagama’t humiling ako sa kanila ng konting pagtiis at pasensiya. Wala hong labanan sa SK Pendatun kanya lamang sa dami ng mga evacuees galing sa ibang lugar nagkaroon sila tuloy ng maraming bagong mamamayan. Kaya sila ay tutulungan natin maging bumalik sila sa dating lugar o manatili sa SK Pendatun.

Tungo pa rin sa pagkakaisa ng ating mga kapatid na magkaiba ang pananalig ang Emergency Employment Project para sa Out-of-School Youth ng ARMM. Ito ay naglalayong sanayin ang mga kabataan ma maging Sala’am Peace Corps na tutulong sa mga gawaing pangkomunidad at kumita ng panggastos sa halip ng mahikayat lumahok sa labanan. Mayroon ding Livelihood Enhancement and Peace (LEAP) program na tumutulong sa mga dating rebelde ng MNLF na magkaroon ng bagong buhay na mapayapa at kapakipakinabang, tulad ng proyekto nilang Grains Warehouse at Solar Dyer sa Tamontaka, Cotabato City na mangangalaga sa ani ng mga magsasaka na dati sila ay MNLF na sundalo.

Pinalakas din natin ang makabuluhan at epektibong autonomiya sa Muslim Mindanao. Ang ARMM Social Fund ay binigyan ng pondo ng World Bank sa halagang $33 milyon. Nagmiting kami kahapon para pag-usapan kung saan pupunta itong $33 milyon. Lumikha rin tayo ng ARMM Unified Command ng AFP para mag-alaga sa kapakanan at seguridad ng mga nakatira sa Muslim Mindanao. Lumikha na rin tayo ng isang search committee para humanap ng mahuhusay at magagaling na abugadong Muslim na maaaring hirangin sa Shari’ah Courts. At magtatayo tayo ng One Stop Shops para sa pagtitulo ng lupa na matagal nang problema ng mga komunidad na Muslim. Ito ay ilalagay natin sa Cotabato City, diyan sa headquarters ng Autonomous Region, diyan sa Pikit sa Cotabato, at saka sa Ampatuan sa Maguindanao.

Ang mababang pinag-aralan ng marami nating kapatid sa Mindanao ay isa ring dahilan nang kanilang kahirapan. Ang isyung ito ay bibigyan-diin ko sa aking pagdalaw sa Marawi sa araw na ito at sa Cagayan de Oro sa Lunes kung saan ilulunsad natin ang Distance Learning Program na gagamit ng television para sa pagtuturo kasama dito sa mga technovans bilang mobile schools na maghahatid sa mga liblib na lugar ng batayang edukasyon at pagsasanay pangkabuhayan.

Ang mga pangarap natin tungo sa kapayapaan ay hindi nababawasan. Pero, bagama’t nagdeklara ang MILF ng sariling tigil-putukan, nananatili tayong mapagbantay at umaasa sa negosasyon upang tuluyang bigyan-wakas ang labanan. Nagsasagawa pa rin tayo ng mga piling paghuli at pagpaparusa sa mga nagkasala upang matiyak na hindi umiral ang terorismo sa ating bayan.

Ako’y walang alinlangan na karamihan sa mga taga-Mindanao-Muslim man, Kristiyano o Lumad – ay naghahangad ng katiwasayan at tahimik na pamumuhay. Ang aking pamamalagi sa Mindanao nitong mga nagdaang araw ay lalong nagpalakas sa aking pasiya at pagpupunyagi na pangunahan ang laban sa terorismo at kahirapan hanggang mangibabaw ang kapayapaan, kasiguruhan at kasaganaan sa Katimugan.

Kaya naman, minarapat kong doon sa Mindanao ipagdiwang ang ating Araw ng Kalayaan noong Hunyo 12, dahil sa Mindanao natin binibigyan ng lubos na katuparan ang pangako ng tunay na kalayaan.

Our most important focus of human freedom is in Mindanao – freedom from fear, freedom from want and freedom from injustice. We are determined to make the people of Mindanao feel that we belong to one nation, that they are in the mainstream of our nation’s future.

Bilang nagkakaisang sambayanan sa ilalim ng isang bandila, tutuparin natin ang pangako ng Mindanao nang mapalapit tayo sa pangarap nating matatag at maunlad na Republika ng Pilipinas.

MARAWI CITY -- Some 500 out-of-school youth from 18 municipalities of Lanao del Sur were inducted by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at Kampo Ranao here upon her arrival in this capital city this morning.

The group of youth volunteers, aged 15 to 24, are members of the community Sala'am or Peace Corps engaged in peacekeeping and socio-civic activities.

The project, which is in line with her administration's Kabuhayan Para sa Kapayapaan program, is a component of the Kabuhayan 2003, the employment agenda of the President aimed at generating employment and preserving existing jobs.

It covers the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Tawi-tawi and Sulu.

According to the Department of Labor and Employment, the lead agency implementing the agenda, the project is envisioned to give young Mindanaons the chance to make their time more productive.

Activities of the Sala'am Corps include police work assistance, socio-civic projects like tree-planting, cleanliness and beautification drives, and medical missions.

Five first district and 13 second district municipalities are covered by the Sala'am Corps. The youth volunteers must have at least basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics.

Each volunteer is entitled to P1,000 monthly allowance. Service hours rendered by each volunteer are highly flexible depending on the needs of the operation as designed by the Philippine National Police, Department of Social Welfare and Development, or the Department of Health.

Earlier this morning, the President, with the assistance of Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong, laid the capsule for the Mindanao Second Roads Improvement Project in an area serving as demarcation line between Muslim and Christian communities at Sultan Gumander.

The project, funded from a $20 million loan facility from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), includes the improvement of some 116.70 kilometers of national highway.

MARAWI CITY—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today spelled out the four principles that would guide her in working for the rehabilitation and full development of Mindanao, a centerpiece program of her government.

In her address to some 5,000 school teachers at the Jamiatu Muslim Mindanao Quadrangle here, the President said that first in these principles is that peace and development must go together.

She said that it is because of her commitment to push for peace and development in Mindanao that she has embarked on a grueling but rewarding eight-day working trip to the island.

The President flew in this morning from Cotabato City on the second to the last leg of her swing through Southern and Central Mindanao.

The second principle that the President cited was that the development of Mindanao must be anchored on constitutionality, national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

She said that the third principle is that there must be social justice for all, regardless of one’s belief or station in life, adding that the Philippines is a land of varied cultures and tradition, which should all be respected.

On top of these three principles, the President said, is that all acts of terrorism and lawlessness should be condemned.

The President also called on all Filipinos, not only those in Mindanao, to support the Mindanao National Initiative of Mindanao Natin, the blueprint for development for Muslim Mindanao that she had launched.

MARAWI CITY—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today ordered the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to shoulder the expenses in the documentation for land titles, particularly for poor Muslim Filipinos.

In her address before some 5,000 school teachers at the Jamiatu Muslim Mindanao Quadrangle here, the President said that the one-stop land titling shop, which has been set up Friday at the ARMM Compound in Cotabato City, is the answer to the long-standing problem of the Muslim community in Mindanao.

"Tinutugunan nito ang matagal ng problema ng mga komunidad na Muslim hinggil sa titulo ng lupa (This problem of land titles among the Muslim communities is now being addressed to)," the President said.

The President said that the ARMM should use its social fund for the documentation procedures, in cooperation with Office of Muslim Affairs and the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

She said that the one-stop land titling shop in Cotabato City should now start the processing of applicants from Lanao del Sur and other areas in the ARMM.

The President also told her listeners that she came to Lanao del Sur to ground break several road projects that are being funded by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.

MARAWI CITY -- On a virtually sleepless night Friday before coming over to this capital city of Lanao del Sur today, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo counted schools and classsrooms instead of sheeps.

And the result dismayed her.

There are 137 elementary schools in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with 100 or more students per class, figures that, according to her, do not augur well for conducive learning.

And so before more than 5,000 madrasa or teachers in the province attending the culminating ceremony for the series of activities on Moral Recovery Training Program of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the ARMM at the Jaimatu Muslim Mindanao, she made one big announcement that readily earned the most applause in her speech.

The President said she is allocating P40 million for the construction of new classrooms and instructed Education Secretary Edilberto De Jesus to make two shifting classes in those with 50 or more students.

"Sa ganitong paraan, aasikasuhin natin ang matinding pagkukulang sa mga sailid-aralan na matagal nang nagbibigay perhuwisyo sa ating mga mag-aaral," she told the madrasas who were all garbed in their traditional black Muslim attire.

She told the mammoth crowd at the school quadrangle that the ARMM Social Fund will also take care of the Distance Learning program or Iskwelahang Telebisyon that would bring the "Reading Writing and Arithmetic" to far-flung areas where there is a lack of classrooms or teachers.

"To prepare the youth to be the next generation of knowledge teachers, we will upgrade English teaching pati sa mga madrasa so that our great Filipino workers would continue to have an advantage in this increasingly competitive world," the President said.

To increase the chances of the youth completing their studies, the Chief Executive said she will make sure that there will be schools in every barangay, an announcement that once again drew applause.

Earlier in her speech, she mentioned the economic benefits of her recent state visits to the United States and South Korea as well as her working visit to Japan, assuring her listeners that two thirds of this aid will go to the development of Mindanao.

She revealed that $33 million of the grant will be given to address the problem of former Moro National Liberation Front members who returned to the fold of the law and another $50 million for the ongoing peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) so long as the rebels turn their back on terrorism.

The Chief Executive also announced the creation Friday of an ARMM Unified Command in the Armed Forces of the Philippines that will take care of the security of the residents of Muslim Mindanao.

According to her it will be under the supervision and control of the Southern Command headed by Maj. Gen. Roy Kiamko. Kiamko will have a deputy south commander for the ARMM.

She then reiterated the guiding principles to attain the government’s objectives for Mindanao.

These are:

• That peace and prosperity always go hand in hand;

• That the country's progress should be based on constitutionality, national sovereignty and territorial integrity;

• That there will be social justice for all and respect for individual differences;