epa03433586 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chair Murad Ebrahim (L) gives a gong instrument to Philippine President Benigno Aquino III (R) during a meeting at the presidential palace in Manila, Philippines, 15 October 2012. The Philippine government and MILF rebels are expected to sign a framework agreement on 15 October toward resolving a decades-old insurgency in the southern Philippines, with the agreement calling for a new autonomous entity to be called Bangsamoro, or Muslim nation. EPA/ROUELLE UMALI / POOL

epa03433665 Filipino Muslim women supporting a framework peace agreement react after hearing news of its signing in Manila, Philippines, 15 October 2012. The Philippine government and the country's largest Muslim rebel group on 15 October signed a preliminary peace pact aimed at ending a 43-year rebellion in the troubled south. The framework agreement calls for the establishment of a new autonomous region to be called Bangsamoro, which means Muslim nation, in the southern region of Mindanao by 2016. EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA

epa03433667 Filipinos supporting a framework peace agreement react after hearing news of its signing in Manila, Philippines 15 October 2012. The Philippine government and the country's largest Muslim rebel group on 15 October signed a preliminary peace pact aimed at ending a 43-year rebellion in the troubled south. The framework agreement calls for the establishment of a new autonomous region to be called Bangsamoro, which means Muslim nation, in the southern region of Mindanao by 2016. EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA

epa03433719 Filipinos supporting a framework peace agreement hug each other after hearing news of its signing in Manila, Philippines, 15 October 2012. The Philippine government and the country's largest Muslim rebel group on 15 October signed a preliminary peace pact aimed at ending a 43-year rebellion in the troubled south. The framework agreement calls for the establishment of a new autonomous region to be called Bangsamoro, which means Muslim nation, in the southern region of Mindanao by 2016. EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA

epa03433721 Filipinos supporting a framework peace agreement react after hearing news of its signing in Manila, Philippines, 15 October 2012. One holds a sign reading 'Ensur Moros' Participation and Decision Making!' The Philippine government and the country's largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), on 15 October signed a preliminary peace pact aimed at ending a 43-year rebellion in the troubled south. The framework agreement calls for the establishment of a new autonomous region to be called Bangsamoro, which means Muslim nation, in the southern region of Mindanao by 2016. EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA

epa03433746 (L-R, standing) Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chief Al Haj Murad, Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III and Teresita Quintos-Deles, adviser on the peace process witness the signing of a framework agreement between the Philippines government and Muslim separatist rebels inside the Malacanang presidential palace, Manila, Philippines, 15 October 2012. The Philippine government and the largest Muslim rebel group signed a preliminary peace pact aimed at ending a 43-year rebellion in the country's troubled south. The framework agreement calls for the establishment of a new autonomous region to be called Bangsamoro, or Muslim nation, in the southern region of Mindanao, by 2016. Also in photo are (L-R, sitting) Mohagher Iqbal, Chairperson for the MILF panel; Tengku Abdul Ghafar, Malaysian facilitator to the peace deal and Dean Marvic Leonen, Chaiperson for Government of the Philippines panel. The 12,000-strong MILF had been fighting the Philippine government since 1978 when it split from the Moro National Liberation Front, which opted for autonomy and signed a peace agreement in 1996.The MILF entered into peace talks with the government in 1997 and first agreed to accept autonomy in an unsuccessful round of negotiations in 2008. EPA/DENNIS M. SABANGAN

epa03433777 Filipinos supporting a framework peace agreement hold up flags of the Philippines (L) and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in Manila, Philippines 15 October 2012. The Philippine government and the country's largest Muslim rebel group on 15 October signed a preliminary peace pact aimed at ending a 43-year rebellion in the troubled south. The framework agreement calls for the establishment of a new autonomous region to be called Bangsamoro, which means Muslim nation, in the southern region of Mindanao by 2016. EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA