Philippine Muslim self-rule bill due on Monday

Philippine President Benigno Aquino will on Monday receive a completed draft bill to create a Muslim autonomous area, aimed at ending decades of fighting that has claimed thousands of lives, his spokesman said. Receiving the draft bill would allow Aquino to quickly submit it to Congress so it could be quickly passed into law and implemented before the president's term ends in mid-2016, Aquino's spokesman Herminio Coloma said. Aquino on Monday will be handed the draft forged by government negotiators and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country's main Muslim rebel group as part of the peace process, he told reporters. ‘The president will prioritise and give his attention to this bill so it can be passed by Congress... as soon as possible in accordance to the roadmap and timetable,’ he said. Coloma said they wanted the law passed quickly so the election of the leaders of the Muslim self-rule area could be held alongside the 2016 national elections, according to AFP.