The Philippine government signed a peace deal with the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Monday, October 15, 2012.
The peace deal served as a roadmap to forming a new autonomous region in the south, the Bangsamoro government entity which forms part of the previous ARMM.
The peace deal between the Philippine government and the Moro rebels is a step towards ending more than 40 years of conflict.
The President of the Philippines, President Aquino have met earlier the leader of the MILF before signing of the landmark framework agreement. For the very first time the leader of the MILF Ebrahim Murad visited the presidential palace.
The President and the leader of the MILF have already met during the early August 2011 as they held secret talks in Tokyo, Japan.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, was also present during the signing along with foreign dignitaries and international aid agencies that helped in the peace process.
The President is expected to issua an executive order to form the 15-member transition commission that will formulate a new legislation by the year 2015 to create a new Muslim local government for the “Bangsamoro,” the name given by the Moro tribes for their homeland.
