Manila: President Benigno Aquino has said the 2014 pro-autonomy peace settlement between the Philippine government and a 47-year old Filipino-Muslim rebel group will unite the country, adding this will be as prosperous as the post-war partnership of the United States and Japan — former rivals of the Second World War.

In a speech during the Day of Valour that marked the 70th year of the Second World War, on Mount Samat, Bataan (central Luzon), Aquino said, “As we remember the Day of Valour, we recall the lessons of the past and avoid repeating old mistakes in order to move on to where we should go. This lesson should make us pursue long lasting peace in Mindanao and for Congress to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law.”

“Our former enemy, [the 12,000 strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front or MILF] should be a partner for peace and justice for all in Mindanao. With this, we will achieve more. This will prevent radicals and terrorists from launching their selfish agenda in the south,” Aquino said, referring to three or more terror groups waiting in the wings if the Philippine government-MILF peace process is not legislated for implementation.

Noting he will not give up achieving peace in Mindanao, Aquino said, “However hard, we will face every obstacle and push for peace for everyone in the south.”

“Two generations have already suffered due to violence in Mindanao. We will not allow succeeding generations to suffer the same fate,” Aquino said, adding, “This generation has the responsibility to maintain peace and pursue widespread prosperity [in the south].”

“Despite our differences, we [Filipinos and Filipino-Muslims] live and share a single world. The legitimate concern of one is a concern of all,” Aquino said, adding the unity of unlikely partners was seen after the Second World War “when the victors and survivors needed to rebuild from the ashes, when adversaries became partners”.

In response, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhide Ishikawa, said, “We have vowed never to wage war again.”

He offered “heartfelt apologies and a deep sense of remorse for the suffering of Filipinos” at the hands of the Japanese Imperial Army from 1942 to 1945.

The event commemorated the surrender of 80,000 Filipino and American forces (without their leaders), and their 97 kilometre Bataan Death March from Mariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga, and Capas, Tarlac in central Luzon, starting April 9. 1942. An estimated 21,000 Filipinos and less than a thousand Americans died in the deadly march. A total of one million Filipinos died during the Second World War.

More than 150,000 were killed in the south when the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) waged a separatist war in the early 1970s. The MILF broke away from the MNLF in 1978.

The US, Japan and the Philippines are trade and development partners. The US and Japan have been aiding the Philippines in times of calamities.