Three years after the signing of a peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front, the attainment of lasting peace in Mindanao seems to be distant as ever. Why is peace still proving so elusive in Southern Philippines? Why has the GRP-MNLF peace accord failed to win over the Moro rebel groups or to encourage them to forge their own peace pacts with the government? This essay argues that if it wants lasting peace in Southern Philippines, the Philippine government must take into account the differences between three Muslim rebel groups in Mindanao, and stop skirting the subject of a separate Islamic state or system for Muslim Filipinos