'Don't cast aside Manila-MILF peace pact'

MANILA: President Benigno Aquino's successor risks war with disparate armed groups in the restive southern island of Mindanao if the peace pact Manila signed with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is cast aside, the government's peace negotiators have warned.  

Such a conflict could help Islamist extremist groups get fresh recruits and turn Mindanao into a more fertile militant training ground, and also allow militants to mount more attacks across South-East Asia, they said.