President Aquino left the country without fanfare last Thursday and held a secret meeting with the leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Japan in a bid to hasten the peace process in Mindanao.
The President met with MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ibrahim for two hours in a Tokyo hotel and obtained commitment to forge a peace agreement within his term, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) announced Friday.
But Professor Marvic Leonen, government peace panel chairman, said President did not meet with Murad in Japan in his capacity as head of state but as Commander-in-Chief to show the Aquino administration’s sincerity in forging a peace agreement with the MILF within his term.
