PCFR condemns foreign meddling in Mindanao

THE Philippine Council for Foreign Relations (PCFR) is a multi-sectoral grouping composed of retired Filipino diplomats and armed forces flag-officers, business executives, academic and civil society representatives. The PCFR is dedicated to upholding a constitutional mandate for this country to pursue an independent foreign policy. It is against this background that the membership of the council is dismayed by the seemingly inordinate attention that foreign governments have given to what can be considered as a strictly local affair.

It is unfortunate that what should have been treated as a purely domestic issue relating to a constitutionally erected autonomous region has assumed international dimensions with a comprehensive agreement between this nation and its autonomous region in the south – signed, sealed and delivered under the patronizing gaze of so-called foreign sponsors to a Mindanao peace process.