President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today commended the country’s regional neighbors, particularly Malaysia, for their help in the quest for an end to the hostilities in Mindanao.

"I thank Malaysia for facilitating the GRP-MILF (Government of the Republic of the Philippines-Moro Islamic Liberation Front) peace process. This has strengthened mutual trust and confidence across the negotiating table," the President said during the Philippine National Police turnover ceremony at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

"We shall continue to forge peace in Mindanao through third party facilitation, through deployment of an international monitoring team, to seal stability on the ground and to sustain deployment of multilateral development partnerships," she said.

The President noted that normalcy has returned to Mindanao "under the aegis of tolerance and harmony."

The President also said things are looking up in the country, because of the help of the whole world, including the country’s ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors. She cited a recent survey of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showing that business confidence is rising in the post election period.

Malaysia, which has been brokering the GRP-MILF peace negotiations, will send a 60-man team next month to monitor the ceasefire between the government and the MILF in some areas of Mindanao.

It is also part of the efforts of the Malaysian government to help monitor the waters between the two countries.

Malaysia will host a next round of talks between the GRP and MILF panels but the exact date is still being worked out.