But the country's president, Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos Horta, rejects that idea.

VOA: standard.2009.09.07

Mr Ramos's successor, President Joseph Estrada (a former tough-guy film actor) has shown far less patience.

ECONOMIST: The Philippines

For his part, Ruben Torres, Ramos's chief of staff, says Misuari, now 57, should be an excellent administrator.

CNN: A Warrior Comes in From the Cold

If elected, will left-leaning Estrada follow Ramos's liberal economic policies, which have helped the country weather the current economic turmoil?

CNN: A year of Living Dangerously