Shortly after the announcement of the agreement, a breakaway group said it would continue to fight for an independent Islamic state.

"We do not care if the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front reached an agreement. We do not want the Bangsamoro entity or whatever they may call it," said Abu Misry Mama, spokesman of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement, in the southern city of Davao.

The group launched attacks on army positions in the south in August as government and rebel negotiators held talks in Kuala Lumpur, but were repulsed by government troops.

The 12-page agreement sees the Bangsamoro region having its vested property rights protected, the basic rights of its minorities and indigenous groups recognized and witnessing the gradual transfer of law enforcement functions in the area from the Armed Forces of the Philippines to a reformed police.

The autonomous region would replace the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao set up two decades ago, which Aquino has called a "failed experiment".

Questions:

1. How long has the conflict been going on for?

2. What does the agreement give the Muslim-dominated area in the south?

3. By which year will the exact size of the entity have been decided?

Answers:

1. 40 years.

2. Greater political powers and more control over resources.

3. 2016.

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