The Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) - the country’s largest Islamic rebel group - signed a historic peace agreement on March 27, ending four decades of conflict that has claimed at least 120,000 lives in southern Philippines.

The Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) was struck by Philippine Government Peace Panel Chairman Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and MILF Peace Panel Chairman Mohagher Iqbal in the presence of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak as witnesses.

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has five provinces in southern Philippines, which will be covered by a more powerful government known as Bangsamoro with more financial sources.

President Aquino claimed spoilers who want to derail the efforts of the Philippine Government and the front in setting up the Bangsamoro political entity will be stopped.

He said the next mission is to have the Bangsamoro Transition Authority in place by 2015 until a referendum is held in the area before 2016.

It took nearly two decades before the Philippine Government and the MILF were able to come up with a solution to end 40 years of fighting.

Formal peace talks kicked off in 1997 when the government and the front agreed to a ceasefire.-VNA