COTABATO CITY, Philippines?Multi-awarded singer Gary Valenciano?s heart was obviously bleeding Friday as he surveyed an evacuation center in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao.

?I?m so very touched and I want my children and others in Metro Manila to see them, to realize that they are more blessed, and sharing these blessings with displaced kids makes life worth living,? Valenciano, new national ambassador of goodwill of the United Nations Children?s Fund (Unicef) said.

The hardships facing children in evacuation centers here, he said, was cause for concern.

?We are very much concerned with their plight and we are finding out ways to better help them and their families,? he said during the distribution of goodies to some 500 children in Barangay Lopong here.

Valenciano also issued an appeal to warring groups in the province and other parts of Mindanao.

?Please spare the children from conflict; they are our future. We should not deny that to them,? he said.

Hundreds of children continue to live with their parents in evacuation centers in various parts of Mindanao since violence between the military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front broke out in 2008.

Officials admit that the violence has not only disrupted the peace but also affected the children?s education and health.

A recent study conducted by the Unicef and the Department of Health showed that Maguindanao and the four other provinces of the Autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao have the ?lowest? (40 percent) child health and education levels compared to other regions in the country.

?Children in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao live differently from children in Manila or elsewhere, illustrating the huge disparities that exist among children in the Philippines,? Unicef representative Vanessa Tobin said.

She said Unicef was determined to help in changing the children?s future from bleak to something bright.

?We want them to enjoy equal rights to live, learn and play, so they can be successful and responsible citizens that the world can be proud of,? Tobin said.

Valenciano said he wanted children in conflict areas to know that there is hope for them.

"I also want to let them know that we always think of them and are finding ways to better help them and their families,? he said.

But Valenciano said peace should be achieved so that all the efforts being done will not go to waste.

?I?m optimistic that one day we will achieve peace,? he said.