MANILA: The Philippines government will not sign a peace deal with the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, irrespective of a Supreme Court ruling on its legality, the chief government spokesman said yesterday.

The comments from Jesus Dureza signal the end of a territorial agreement reached last month between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is fighting for partial self-rule in the mineral-rich Mindanao region.

Analysts said while the deal was hastily drawn-up, its scrapping would delay resolving by months, and possibly years, the decades-long conflict in the south of the Christian-majority nation.

“We are not going to sign this memorandum of agreement in its present form,” Dureza said in a television interview. “With due respect to the Supreme Court...government in the executive department would like to make this very, very clear and there should be no nuancing about this.” The agreement, which proposed expanding an autonomous Muslim region in Mindanao, provoked a storm of protest from powerful Christian interests and a challenge in the Supreme Court.

Although the government decision should make the appeal against the deal moot, the court was continuing to hear arguments yesterday. Counsel for the petitioners said it was important for the court to rule on the legality of the deal, since the government could reach a similar agreement in the future.

MILF renegades, angered by opposition to the deal, attacked towns in the south on Monday. The military has retaliated against their positions with airstrikes and gunfire.

Dureza said the violence, and reservations expressed by Supreme Court judges at a preliminary hearing, had persuaded the government to revisit the deal. The decision, however, came after what appeared to be much dithering. On Thursday, the government initially said it had scrapped the agreement and then appeared to soften its stand, saying it would be reviewed. MILF leaders have said renegotiating the deal was out of the question.

Analysts said quick negotiations were necessary to prevent the violence from getting out of hand.

“Right now, both sides are beating their breast,” said Tom Green at the Pacific Strategies and Assessments risk consultancy.

“They are going to have to do a sit-down to keep a lid on the situation and get a conversation going again. They will have to do that relatively soon.” Green said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assented to the agreement despite not getting the go-ahead from interest groups, including Christian politicians in the south and powerful clans. Clashes left 30 rebels dead in the southern Philippines overnight. The rebels were slain in villages bordering the Liguasan marshes around Maguindanao, said local military spokesman Col. Julieto Ando. “All were killed in two days of simultaneous air and ground assaults,” he said.

Maj. Armand Rico, an army official, said the number of soldiers wounded had risen to 12 as MILF rebels fought the military offensive on their stronghold near Liguasan marsh.

“They are familiar with the terrain in the Liguasan marshland, they have expertise in moving there so the military had to use air assets,” Ando said.