Muslim rebels belonging to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed a peace deal with the Philippine government on Thursday aimed at ending decades-long strife in impoverished regions of resource-rich Mindanao.
More than 1,000 guests from various sectors of society witnessed the signing of the five-page Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) by the panel members from the government and the MILF in Malacanang, a culmination of 17 years of hard negotiations, which even reached deadlock at some point.
President Benigno Aquino III, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles, MILF chief Al Haj Murad Ebrahim and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak also showed up for the signing.