Philippines signs deal with Muslim rebels, challenges lie ahead

The Philippine government and the country's largest Muslim rebel group signed a peace deal on Monday that serves as a roadmap to forming a new autonomous region in the south, a step towards ending more than 40 years of conflict.    

President Benigno Aquino and Ebrahim Murad, head of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), held one-on-one talks before the signing of the landmark framework agreement. Before the meeting, Murad, a first-time visitor to the presidential palace in Manila, handed Aquino a miniature gong, which he ritually sounded.       

Aquino is expected to issue an executive order shortly to form a 15-member transition commission that will formulate new legislation by 2015 to create a new Muslim local government for the "Bangsamoro", the name given by the Moro tribes for their homeland.    

On Sunday, about 200 women wearing the Muslim "hijab" veil took part in a run for peace with soldiers near the main army base. Dozens of Muslim rebel leaders, businessmen and civil society groups arrived in Manila via a chartered flight from the southern Cotabato City to witness the signing ceremony.        

The two panels will return soon to the negotiating table to discuss the finer details of the agreement. Results of the talks will be written as annexes to what is expected to be a comprehensive peace deal.    

Both parties said there were still unresolved issues on the plebiscite to form the new entity, the creation of an internal security force, and other power- and wealth-sharing arrangements.      


REUTERS