For almost two hours, the Senate committee on local
government tried but failed to extract the real name of Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF) chief peace negotiator Mohaqher Iqbal.
At the resumption of the Senate hearings on the proposed
Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) on Monday, Iqbal said he would reveal his true
identity after the peace process is completed through the passage of the BBL.
”Once the BBL is passed by Congress, then it would be
implemented and everything will become normal, I will be ready to disclose my
identity but this time, I will ask not to compel me to reveal my identity,”
Iqbal asked the Senate panel chaired by Sen. Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.
It was revealed in last week's House hearing on the
Mamasapano incident that the MILF chief peace negotiator had been using the nom
de guerre Mohagher Iqbal since talks began in 1997.
During the Senate hearing, Marcos as well as Senators
Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero and Nancy Binay appealed to Iqbal to reveal his real
name as “confidence-building measure”.
”In the interest of peace process, revealing your name would
be a big help in inspiring confidence not only to the legislators and the
government but in general public,” Marcos told Iqbal.
For his part, Escudero said if Iqbal has been claiming that
his use of alias in signing the peace agreements with the government was just a
small thing, “then why you cannot grant this small request?”
Iqbal, also chairman of the Bangsamoro Transition
Commission, explained that he continued to use alias not only for his own
security but for the safety of his families and the MILF as a revolutionary
organization.
”We use nom de guerre to protect myself, my family, and the
struggle. If I was harmed and killed, perhaps I would not be here in this
august body,” Iqbal said.
”It’s not just my personal security but about the MILF
because we are still in a state of conflict. It’s very complicated situation.
Once the BBL is passed and everything becomes normal, everything about us will
be known by the whole Philippines
Philippine government peace negotiating panel (GRP)
chairperson Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and Presidential Adviser on the Peace
Process (OPAPP) Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles defended Iqbal’s decision not
reveal his name for security reason.
”There are privacy and security issues here. There a right
to privacy of any public official,” Ferrer said.
“He is a very public person. He does have a family and
children that carry his name. We know that the MILF still has enemies,” Deles
said.
Deles said she does not know the real name of Iqbal but
assured that the BTC chairman is the authorized person of the MILF to talk with
the government.
Ferrer, on the other hand, said she had known the real name
of through her study of the Moro struggle in Mindanao .
Senator Teofisto ‘TG’ Guingona III, a lawmaker from
Mindanao, also defended Iqbal, saying the MILF chief peace negotiator has
family and grandchildren to protect from any threat including from other armed
groups in Mindanao .
”We must infuse culture here. We need to recognize the
culture of our (Muslim) brothers down south. If you committed wrongdoing
against a person, he will take revenge and he will not find you, he take it
against your clan. Their culture is different. The security issue is very, very
complex,” Guingona explained.
Guingona also explained that the MILF, being a revolutionary
movement, is conceptually outside the ambit of the laws.
”That’s why they are called the rebels. The laws of the
state cannot be applied in the revolutionary force,” Guingona said.
Guingona said he also sees no problem with Iqbal using alias
“as long as he continued the peace process until its final end.”
”Mr. Iqbal said once the peace has been achieved, they cease
to be a revolutionary force, they form part of the state, they will voluntary
submit to the laws of the republic. And they have promised that by that that
time he would reveal his name,” Guingona said.
Senate President Franklin Drilon said the issue on the true
identity of Iqbal will not affect the peace agreement between the government
and the MILF but urged the BTC chairman to disclose his true identity as
“confidence-building measure”.
“The use of a nom de guerre by Iqbal in signing the peace
agreement does not constitute any legal violation, for both parties involved
fully recognized Iqbal as the MILF’s chief negotiator in the peace process,”
Drilon explained in a press statement.
“What is important is that the MILF will honour and fulfill
its obligations under the peace agreement,” he underscored.
Still, he urged Iqbal to reveal his real name in order to
help address misconceptions about the MILF’s commitment to the peace process.
Drilon also said that the use of an alias will not
invalidate any document that Iqbal has signed in his official capacity as an
official representative of his organization.
He pointed out that in the Senate itself, several senators
have also signed official documents, committee reports and bills using
nicknames. Among them are Senators Jinggoy Estrada, whose real name is Jose
Pimentel Ejercito, and Ramon Revilla Jr., who was born with the name of Jose
Marie Mortel Bautista.
During the hearing, Escudero moved to summon the Department
of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in the next hearing to present documents that will
show the real identity of Iqbal.
“We discuss this issue in this hearing without any
allegation of deception, just information. And based on this information, Congress
will act accordingly. Why is Mr. Iqbal agonizing over giving his real identity?
Who is he afraid of? The military?” Escudero pointed out.
Escudero explained that knowing Iqbal’s identity should not
be brushed aside, saying it was important to know “who we really talk to, who
we deal with because this small thing has a significant effect on
confidence-building which is one of the most difficult tasks in brokering
peace.”
Escudero also scored officials of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) for not knowing the real identity of the MILF chief peace
negotiator considering that the Moro revolutionary group has been in existence
for almost 42 years now.
AFP Chief-of-Staff Gen. Pio Catapang, when questioned by
Escudero, admitted they did not know the real name of Iqbal and that they had
no accessible information to determine this.
“In those 42 years, the AFP never thought it relevant to
find the real identities of the leaders of the rebel group they have been
fighting with? This is unsettling,” he said.
Escudero also questioned the government peace panel about
the real identities of other MILF peace negotiators, without any allegation of
deception or fraud.
The resumption of the Senate hearing on BBL focused on the
ceasefire mechanisms to prevent repetition of Mamasapano encounter that lasted
for almost 11 hours between the Special Action Force (SAF) and combined forces
of the MILF and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
The Senate panel has temporarily suspended the BBL hearings
to give way the Senate investigations on the Mamasapano incident that killed 44
SAF troopers last January 25.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=752496
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