The Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrilla group agreed on Sunday on the division of powers between the central state and the new autonomous government of the predominantly Muslim Bangsamoro region in the island of Mindanao. According to the deal, the Philippines will retain exclusive power over nine areas and will transfer powers over 58 areas, which will be exclusive to the Bangsamoro self-governing region.

The Philippine media agree that the deal is a very important step on the road to solve the armed conflict that oppose the Philippines and MILF since the 1960s. The MILF claims to be struggling since then for the self-determination of the Moro people, the main Muslim group in the Philippines which is concentrated in the south of the archipelago. It is estimated that the conflict has caused more than 120,000 casualties.

The new autonomous institutions are set to replace the current Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, which was put in place after a 1987 Manila-MILF deal.

The power-sharing agreement provides that the Philippine Government retains exclusive powers over defense, foreign policy, currency, citizenship, immigration, customs and common market. Meanwhile, the list of exclusive powers of the Bangsamoro Government will include agriculture, industry, labour, tourism, culture, language, education, sports, traditional laws, environment and health. Bangsamoro will exercise these powers through its own government and a representative assembly of its "constituent political units, as well as non-Moro indigenous communities, women, settler communities, and other sectors". Both the Philippine and the Bangsamoro governments will be allowed to raise their own taxes.

Final agreement by 2014

The two players have agreed to reach a final settlement next month. Control over the Bangsamoro territorial waters is one of the unresolved issues. Once the last issues are settled, it is expected that the Bangsamoro Basic Law will be completely drafted next April. The Philippine Parliament will then need to pass the law.

According to Philippine online news website Interaksyon, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III says that several problems will be still faced in the road to peace. These include the rehabilitation of the 12,000 MILF guerrillas into mainstream society and the surrender of weapons.

However, this will not be the only problem. Other guerrillas that do not take part in the peace process are still operating in Mindanao, and they retain the capacity to destabilize the situation on the ground. One of these groups is a faction of the Moro National Liberation Movement (MNLF), which last September clashed with the Philippine army for weeks. Immediately after the Manila-MILF agreement was announced, this MNLF faction warned of a possible return to violence. The MNLF faction says it is not willing to accept anything else than full independence for the Bangsamoro.

Further information:

• Follow up on Nationalia: The Philippines and MILF agree to establish a new autonomous region for Mindanao Moros