( CNN ) -- Filipino government officials and Muslim rebel leaders signed a landmark peace deal Monday aimed at ending a long-running insurgency in the nation 's troubled south . The provisional accord paves the way for a new autonomous region to be administered by Muslims in Mindanao , according to President Benigno Aquino III , who met with the rebels at the presidential palace in Manila . `` Today , we sign a framework agreement that can finally seal a genuine , lasting peace in Mindanao , '' Aquino said in a speech . The deal sets up mechanisms to tackle issues such as power structure and revenues in the southern region , which will be named Bangsamoro . The new region is expected to replace the current one by 2016 , when the president 's term ends , according to officials . The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has fought for decades to set up an independent Islamic state in southern Philippines , having been blamed for a host of attacks and skirmishes that have left tens of thousands dead . Yet even as this violence unfolded , rebels have been negotiating for 15 years with officials from the Manila-based government . Aquino has said the agreement `` brings all former secessionist groups into the fold , '' and that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is no longer seeking to form a new nation . The rebel group 's chairman , Al Haj Murad Ebrahim , was present at the agreement 's signing . Murad 's group is estimated to have 12,000 members , but military sources say it may have splintered when government troops conducted offensives in 2000 . The new name of Bangsamoro `` symbolizes and honors the struggles of our forebears in Mindanao , and celebrates the history and character of that part of our nation , '' according to Aquino . Ex-Philippines president arrested .
NEW : The new agreement can ` ` seal a genuine , lasting peace , '' Aquino says . Rebels have been fighting for independence from the Philippines for decades . The agreement is to create a new autonomous region dominated by Muslims . The region in the southern Philippines will be called Bangsamoro .