The release of P10 million for the funding of the Central Mindanao Task Force was ordered by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
This will cover the operating and project expenses of a newly formed task force that would help push the peace process forward and uplift the living conditions of thousands of evacuees displaced in the fighting in Central Mindanao. This is according to the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Peace Process (OPAPP).
Arroyo signed the Administrative Order No. 267 creating a Health, Education, Livelihood, Progress Task Force for Central Mindanao (HELP-CM) composed of 12 government agencies to be led by Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Avelino I. Razon Jr.
The President said that the task force aims to achieve: forging a peaceful, negotiated final political settlement with the MILF, including the effective implementation of ceasefire, development and monitoring agreements; addressing the concerns arising from continued armed hostilities, the protection and civilian communities and non-combatants, especially from lawless MILF renegades; reducing the impact of the conflict on the communities in the conflict-affected areas, especially the internally displaced persons (IDPs); and pursuing “humanitarian offensives” to address the root causes of conflict, i.e. poverty and exclusion from access to education, employment and livelihood. (PIA)