Kuala Lumpur - The Philippine government remains confident of reaching a peace agreement with Muslim separatist rebels despite a court ruling which temporarily blocked the inking of the long-awaited pact, the Philippines' Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said Tuesday.

Romulo was confident that the "temporary setback" would be resolved quickly, adding that both Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had the political will to continue with the signing of the agreement.

"The (Philippine) government will present our case in the Supreme Court on why we should continue signing the agreement as it will contribute to the large issue of peace and stability in southern Philippines," Romulo said at a media conference in Malaysia's administrative capital of Putrajaya, where the peace deal was supposed to be signed earlier in the day.

The pact would have been a key step in resuming formal peace talks between the government and the MILF, which have been stalled since December.

The Philippine Supreme Court on Monday issued a temporary restraining order against the signing of the agreement following objections by Christian politicians who claim they were not consulted on the deal.

Romulo told reporters Tuesday that he was "very confident that eventually, hopefully soon, we should be able to return" to Malaysia to sign the accord.

The agreement between the Philippine government and the MILF would expand an existing autonomous region in the southern Philippines to add 712 more villages, provided residents approve the move in a vote.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim expressed disappointment at the temporary setback, and urged all parties to remain committed to peace talks.

Malaysia has played the role of facilitator for the past seven years in negotiations between Manila and the MILF.

The 11,000-strong MILF has been fighting for the establishment of an independent Islamic state in Mindanao since 1978. It agreed to hold peace talks with the government in 1997 in hopes of ending the violent separatist struggle which has claimed thousands of lives. (dpa)