The Philippines and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have signed the operational guidelines governing the Malaysian-led team who will monitor a ceasefire, officials said today.

The "terms of reference" was signed by government's chief peace negotiator Silvestre Afable and MILF senior leader Mohaqer Iqbal last week in Manila, said Rodolfor Garcia, a member of the government negotiating panel.

The agreement was then transmitted to Malaysia, which is brokering the ceasefire and which will host the resumption of peace talks expected by October, he said.

The terms of reference basically refers to the guidelines over what the Malaysian monitors can and can't do, he said.

The mandate of the peace monitoring team is to see that a ceasefire signed by both sides in 1992 remains in place and prevent clashes that could derail the peace process, he said.

Nine-man team

The nine-man Malaysian team arrived early this month, and are now visiting areas of conflict in the southern Mindanao island, where the MILF has been waging a rebellion since 1978.

President Gloria Arroyo launched peace talks with the rebels after the truce was signed, but allegations that the MILF continue to harbour militants from the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) group in its camps have cast a shadow over the negotiations.

The JI is believed to be the regional terrorist arm of the al-Qaeda, and is responsible for the October 2002 bombings in Bali, Indonesia that left 202 people dead. The group also claimed responsibility for a recent car bomb attack outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta that left nine dead.