MANILA: A rebel leader said on Friday that changes that would water down a proposed autonomy law under a peace deal with the Philippine government are unacceptable and that insurgents are appealing to lawmakers to pass legislation that would help end a decades-old rebellion in the country’s south.

Mohagher Iqbal, chief negotiator for the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said delays in the passage of the autonomy bill in Congress have made the insurgents anxious. He said rebel leaders are regularly notifying commanders on progress in implementing the peace deal, which was signed last year.

Under the Malaysian-brokered agreement, the rebels dropped their separatist bid in exchange for a more powerful and better-funded Muslim autonomous region to be called Bangsamoro.

It was to be created with a bill drafted by a rebel-government commission and submitted to Congress. A police anti-terror assault in January, however, spun out of control and led to the killings of 44 police commandos in clashes that entangled some of the Moro rebels.

The police deaths, their largest single-day combat loss in years, sparked public outrage and prompted lawmakers to scrutinize and water down the autonomy bill, delaying its passage.

At least 77 provisions and passages have been deleted, changed or diluted by a Senate committee and at least 28 changes have been introduced in the House of Representatives. The changes would limit the new autonomous region’s power and revenue share, Iqbal said.