MILF chief negotiator hurt by revisions of draft Bangsamoro charter

By: Nikko Dizon - 10 years ago

Mohagher Iqbal. AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Professor Mohagher Iqbal, the stoic and often inscrutable chief negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, admitted on Tuesday he felt hurt and offended after seeing what he described as the “diluted” version of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law.

“As a human being, I have feelings but I manage that emotion. But deep inside, I felt it,” Iqbal told the Inquirer when asked if he was hurt by how the Office of the President practically re-wrote the work done by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, which he chairs.

Without mentioning details, Iqbal said that the Palace review of the draft BBL was a “conservative interpretation of the Constitution.”

“You cannot find the flexibility of the Constitution in their interpretation, although we respect their views. That is no problem. But I cannot discuss details; please emphasize that I have to stick to the confidentiality of documents,” Iqbal said.

Among all those who have participated one way or another in the peace talks, it is Iqbal who mostly likely intimately knows what went on throughout the entire negotiation process. He has been the MILF’s chief negotiator for over a decade, throughout the starts and stops of the peace talks with the government.

On the other hand, the government replaced its chief negotiator with every change in administration. Moreover, there have been on average two chief negotiators for every administration.

Iqbal acknowledged that the Palace’s review was part of the process in putting together the Bangsamoro Basic Law that would form the basis for the creation of a Bangsamoro autonomous region.

Iqbal reiterated what he had said before—that if a new BBL would be drafted based on the comments of the Office of the President, “then you will create a law” even lesser than Republic Act 9054, the law which created the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that the MILF seeks to replace with a more meaningful form of autonomy.

The BBL, once passed by Congress, will repeal RA 9054.

Iqbal defended the draft law put together by the BTC. He said that the commission was “faithful” to the peace agreement, especially the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB).

“The (annex on) transitional arrangements and modalities says that the basis of crafting the basic law is the FAB and the annexes. So when we wrote the BBL, the BTC believes that we were faithful to the FAB,” Iqbal said, adding there were five lawyers on the commission, and around five more on their staff to help them keep to the legality of the draft law.

Iqbal remains proud of the work of the transition commission, calling the BBL it drafted a “historic document.”

“We will value that document throughout our lives and the next generation that would come would still look at that document as something that is part of our history,” Iqbal said.