Government, rebels meet as Muslim self-rule bill delayed

Government and rebel negotiators began a new round of meetings Friday to draft a Muslim self-rule law after falling behind a timetable laid out in a peace treaty, officials said.

A peace pact signed in March committed President Benigno Aquino 3rd and the largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), to pass a law creating an autonomous Muslim region by mid-2016, when his six-year presidency ends.