Philippine government will sign a final peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) , the largest separatist group in the south, before this year's Ramadan in September, Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz said Thursday.

Government and MILF peace negotiators are still discussing the last substantive issue of ancestral domain, which is critical to the agreement, Cruz told reporters in an ambush interview at the defense department.

"We are confident that before Ramadan, we will be able to conclude the final peace agreement with the MILF," said Cruz.

The final peace agreement with the MILF is expected by the government to dramatically improve the security and stability in Central Mindanao, a Muslim region in the south, according to Cruz.

The starting date of Ramadan, the Islam's holiest month, varies from year to year, depending on the sighting of the new moon, marked by all the Muslims with prayers and fasting.

The MILF is the largest active Islamic movement in the Southern Philippines, believed to have 12,000 members demanding an independent Islamic society from the government.

Peace negotiations between the government and the MILF began during the administration of President Fidel Ramos in 1997. In 2001, the peace talks were suspended when top MILF leaders were ordered arrested for involvement in the bombing of a shopping mall in Metro Manila.

Shortly after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed the presidency, peace negotiations resumed. The warrants of arrest against the MILF leaders were later dropped by the authorities.

Source: Xinhua