Saudi- OFWs laud Manila-MILF accord 

(MENAFN - Arab News) Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the Saudi capital have expressed satisfaction over the new agreement signed between President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino lll and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

"The agreement signed Feb. 27 details the road map toward the creation of a Bangsamoro region at the conclusion of the 36th round of Formal Exploratory Talks between the two parties held in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia," said an OFW from southern Philippines.

He said that this will further engender peace in southern Philippines where many Muslim OFWs come from.

"Hopefully, this signals the start of peace and prosperity in Mindanao which would serve as a sign for OFWs to return to mainstream society on the island," said another OFW from southern Philippines.

During the three-day round of talks, the government of the Philippines (GPH) and MILF peace panels continued discussions on the Annexes on Wealth Sharing and Power Sharing and resolved most of the remaining issues.

"The Philippine government and MILF also signed the Terms of Reference for the Independent Commission on Policing (ICP) prepared by the Technical Working Group on Normalization," the Philippine Embassy said.

On Feb. 11, Aquino made a historic visit to Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao province in southern Philippines, for the launching of the "Sajahatra Bangsamoro," a socio-economic program of the government in partnership with the MILF. Aquino met with Chairman Murad Ebrahim and other MILF leaders on the occasion.

The program aims to uplift the living conditions of the MILF communities in southern Philippines.