Marcos to Iqbal: Who are you?

Senator Ferdinand “Bong-Bong” Marcos Jr. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday said the Senate will ask Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal on Monday to explain why he had to use an alias in signing key documents in the comprehensive peace agreement because it raises questions about his citizenship.

“I will ask him directly, ‘Who are you? What is your real name?’” Marcos, chair of the Senate committee on local government, said in a radio interview.

The senator will question Iqbal Monday, when his committee resumes its hearings on the proposed (BBL) which was suspended after the bloody Mamasapano encounter on Jan. 25 where 44 Special Action Force commandos were killed by MILF and other Muslim rebels.

It will be a problem if upon finding out Iqbal’s real name, it turns out he is not a Filipino, Marcos said.

He said that once Iqbal gave his real name, they could dig up his birth certificate and find out where he was born.

Monday’s inquiry will also focus on how to speed up the ceasefire mechanism after the Mamasapano massacre.

“Because in Mamasapano, it took 11 hours since the firefights began for them to stop. Both sides already knew who they were facing, but up to 4 p.m., there was still fighting. In that 11 hours, our troops were killed, as well as the MILF members,” Marcos said in the radio interview.

Meanwhile, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chair of the House ad hoc committee on the BBL, said Iqbal owed it to the public to reveal his real name and to use it in signing future documents on the peace agreement.

“The CAB (Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro) and other documents signed by Iqbal are between the MILF and the government. I believe the government must address the liability of Iqbal and the Opapp (Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process) under the Revised Penal Code which prohibits the use of aliases in signing government documents, especially of such prime national importance,” Rodriguez said in a phone interview.

Rodriguez said the House ad hoc committee will resume its hearings on the BBL on April 20 and if Iqbal will be required to appear, “I will insist that he state his real name before we move forward because that is his obligation to the public.”–Christine O. Avendaño and Gil C. Cabacungan