One year after taking office in July 2010, Philippine President Benigno Aquino's effort to end the country's decades-long internal conflicts is still stuck in first gear.
Aquino has put the highest premium on reaching a political settlement with the Muslim Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and making inroads with the Maoist front led by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) -- while not forgetting the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), another Muslim rebel group that signed a final, yet shaky, peace agreement in 1996.
In fairness, Aquino has made progress. But doubts remain about whether the steps he has taken amount to an exercise in conflict-management or a real attempt to achieve lasting peace.