BAGUIO - The Philippine presidency hopes to see an "interim" peace deal with Muslim rebels before Gloria Arroyo steps down in June, an aide said Monday, after the rebels said they might wait for a new leader.

Arroyo's chief peace adviser Annabelle Abaya said an interim agreement with the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would pave the way for a final peace accord to be developed by Arroyo's successor.

A long-running separatist rebellion in the southern island of Mindanao has left more than 150,000 people dead.

An interim deal "will define the framework of a more comprehensive agreement," Abaya told a forum in the northern resort city of Baguio.

Arroyo had hoped to seal an fully fledged accord before stepping down but the rebels rejected her latest proposal last month.

Last week the MILF said it would wait for her successor before sealing any peace accord.

"We are looking beyond the present administration," said MILF negotiator Michael Mastura after talks with government negotiators in Kuala Lumpur.

Abaya said an interim agreement would help avoid a repeat of what happened in 2008, when the Supreme Court outlawed a proposed deal that would have given the MILF control over large areas in the south.

In retaliation, MILF forces unleashed attacks across the southern island of Mindanao that left nearly 400 combatants and civilians dead and displaced over 700,000 people.

A new ceasefire was signed last September, paving the way for fresh talks, but over 250,000 people remain displaced, according to government figures.

Abaya conceded that some of the conditions of the MILF for a peace agreement, such as creating a sub-state within a state-- would require a change in the constitution, making it more important to consult with the public first.