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By Alito L. Malinao


MANILA Eric Gryba Jersey , March 28 (Xinhua) -- After 17 years of on-and-off negotiations, the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) finally signed Thursday the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) that both sides said would put an end to the decades-old conflict in Mindanao in southern Philippines.


The peace accord was signed by Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, chief government negotiator, and Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, at a ceremony held in Malacanang presidential palace.


President Benigno Aquino III, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak Olivier Rodrigue Jersey , and MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim led some 1,000 congressional members, government officials, and foreign dignitaries in witnessing the signing ceremony.


In his remarks, Aquino said that the agreement stands as a testament on how far trust and earnestness can move humanity forward. "It shows how righteousness, reason and goodwill are the mightiest of instruments of ending conflict," he said.


Both sides said that they expect to finish the basic law for the Bangsamoro by March 31. The draft of the law that would officially establish the Bangsamoro Anton Slepyshev Jersey , a political entity that would have some federal-type sovereign powers, will be submitted to the Philippine Congress for approval.


If passed, it will still be submitted to the people in the predominantly Muslim areas in Mindanao for their approval through a plebiscite.


Both the government and the MILF have said that the agreement will be the key to the peace, progress and development of Mindanao.


The peace accord is also aimed at ending an insurgency in Mindanao that has left an estimated 150,000 people dead since 1970s.


But realities on the ground may not bolster the optimism for peace of both the government and the MILF.


Nur Misuari, the acknowledged father of the Muslim rebellion in the Philippines, has vehemently opposed the peace accord.


Misuari Brian Ferlin Jersey , who founded the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the forerunner of the MILF, claimed that the government has reneged on its promises set forth in the l996 peace accord signed by the MNLF and the government.


During the tenure of former President Fidel V. Ramos, Misuari signed a peace