MANILA (Philippines), Feb 11: Philippines President Benigno Aquino III said on Monday a final peace agreement with Muslim rebels may be signed next month.    

“I think we're very, very close to agreements on all points,” he said at a Muslim rebel stronghold in the country's south, where he travelled to launch projects jointly with the guerrillas aimed at improving life in the area and bolstering the prospects of a peace deal.

Aquino said he did not want to give deadlines to the peace process but that he believes a comprehensive agreement can be signed “earlier than the end of March.''

Hundreds of soldiers, police and Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters guarded the ceremony in Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao province, where there have been recent battles between troops and militants, who were at times suspected to have been aided by Al Qaeda-linked extremists.     Under the new projects, Aquino's government is pledging to provide health insurance, assistance in finding jobs and funding for schools for rebel families.

The 11,000-strong Moro rebel group had been waging a rebellion for self-rule in the south. It signed a preliminary peace agreement with the government on Oct 15 in a major breakthrough toward ending one of Asia's longest-running insurgencies.—AP