( CNN ) -- Filipino government officials and Muslim rebel leaders are set to sign a landmark peace deal Monday aimed at ending a long-running insurgency in the nation 's troubled south . The `` framework agreement '' paves the way for a new autonomous region to be administered by Muslims in Mindanao , President Benigno Aquino III announced earlier this month . `` We 're very hopeful of this particular agreement , '' presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said in a radio interview , according to a report Sunday from the state-run Philippine News Agency . 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 . `` It deserves a name that symbolizes and honors the struggles of our forebears in Mindanao , and celebrates the history and character of that part of our nation , '' the president said . 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 latter group 's chairman , Al Haj Murad Ebrahim , is set to witness the agreement 's signing at Malacanang Palace in Manila , the official home and workplace of the Philippines ' president . His group is estimated to have 12,000 members , but military sources say it may have been splintered when government troops conducted offensives in 2000 . Some leaders of another group , the Moro National Liberation Front , are also expected to attend . Its head , Nur Misuari , had opposed the pact , feeling it was n't in sync with previous peace deals agreed upon in 1976 and 1996 , the state news agency reported . Dean Marvic Leonen , chairman of the government peace panel , explained that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is a rebel group while Moro National `` is a political organization . '' Even as preparations continued for the 1:30 p.m. signing , fresh security concerns emerged after a weekend explosion just east of Manila . A `` fragmentation grenade '' exploded 1:15 a.m. Saturday in the basement of a San Juan building , a report on the president 's website said , though there were no reports of injuries . After the blast , Valte said there are no known terror threats but the Philippine National Police are on `` full alert '' status ahead of Monday 's signing and visits by several foreign dignitaries , including Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak . Ex-Philippines president arrested .
Rebels have been fighting for independence from the Philippines for years . After Monday of talks , they are set to sign a peace deal Monday in Philippines . The agreement is to create a new autonomous region administered by Malaysian . The region in the southern Manilla will be called the Moro Islamic Liberation Front .