‘Peace partner?’

If that’s the kind of  ‘peace partner’ that we have, who needs enemies?

After not showing up during the first three days of the congressional inquiry into the Mamasapano incident last Jan. 25, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal finally appeared before the Senators yesterday and how! The Senate committee on public order invited Iqbal to be one of the resource persons in the inquiry looking into the tragic incident at Mamasapano where 44 troopers from the Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police were killed in action against armed enemies that included MILF elements.

The MILF chief peace negotiator was also a no-show at the House hearing on the same incident last Wednesday. Like at the first Senate hearing that started last Monday, Iqbal was represented by Rashid Ladiasan, chairman of the MILF coordinating committee on the cessation of hostilities.

Iqbal did not only come to honor the invitation but also swore under oath before the Senate committee. “Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. So help you God.” Iqbal nodded his head and entered into the records of the Senate as having affirmed his oath before the Republic.

If by those gestures alone by Iqbal, this should augur well for continuing the peace process with the MILF. The acts of Iqbal before the Senate can be construed as a manifestation of the MILF recognizing the Republic he now swears before.

This should belie Iqbal’s own assertion that the MILF remains a “revolutionary group” until the government fully complies with its peace agreement with them. This was contained in Iqbal’s excuse letter earlier sent to the Senate as read last Monday for him by Ladiasan.

As expected, the very articulate MILF chief peace negotiator showed why he is the best representative to speak on behalf of fellow Bangsamoro brothers and sisters.

In a prepared opening statement, Iqbal revealed he was out of the country to explain his absence during the first two hearings called by the Senate committee on public order chaired by Sen. Grace Poe. According to Iqbal, he was conferring with MILF chairman Al Haj Murad in Kuala Lumpur. As a matter of fact, he told senators, he came all the way from the airport and went straight to the hearing as soon as his plane landed in Manila.

Iqbal’s letter sent senators into a fit as they questioned the MILF’s sincerity in its peace deal with the government. Now that he was testifying under oath, Iqbal sought to assuage those fears and concerns. Iqbal swore to the senators the MILF is a sincere “peace partner” of the government. He vowed the MILF will eventually become a “social movement” as it will shed its revolutionary nature once it converts into a political party, the United Bangsamoro Justice Party.

 Iqbal said the MILF can only do so under a transition phase to register as a legitimate political party once the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) gets passed in Congress and ratified in a plebiscite. Wily and shrewd he may be as the chief MILF peace negotiator, Iqbal was made to commit officially before the senators that the MILF would not return to armed secessionist struggle if and when they lose the plebiscite and election.

The “better” if the MILF wins in both plebiscite and May, 2016 election, Iqbal quickly retorted. This was after he was pressed into making official commitment for the MILF to respect and abide by the final outcome of their peace deal with the government that would be decided through democratic process of plebiscite and election.

Iqbal likewise showed he could be a gentleman to square off with a feisty though ailing Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago. Also appearing for the first time in this Senate public hearing on the Mamasapano incident, Santiago cut off Iqbal before the MILF chief peace negotiator could argue with her. Obviously, he failed to charm the tart-tongued senator. 

As chief peace negotiator for the MILF, Iqbal was asked to shed light on why the organization that entered a Comprehensive Agreement for Bangsamoro with government in March 2013 figured in the bloody encounter with SAF troopers on that fateful day. On a top-secret mission, 44 of a total 392 SAF troopers were slain and 12 wounded while running after two most wanted terrorist bombers hiding in MILF community in that isolated town of Maguindanao.

Some of the 44 fallen commandos were brutally killed. A video showing how wounded SAF commandos were finished off in barbaric manner went viral in social media. Apparently, the videos were taken by the same armed men who fought it out with government forces that day.

If that’s the kind of “peace partner” that we have, who needs enemies?

Immediately after this incident, Iqbal issued official statement for the MILF that this was a case of “mis-encounter.” At the Senate hearing yesterday, Iqbal reiterated the same claim. To which Sen. Santiago quickly retorted there is no such word as “mis-encounter” in any dictionary.

Iqbal swore no MILF was involved in the atrocities inflicted upon the slain SAF troopers. Iqbal promised though to give more details of their own internal investigation into the Mamasapano “mis-encounter” as soon as this is completed. Again, Iqbal pointed to elements of the MILF splinter group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and other private armed groups as behind the atrocities.

But for now, the government will have to trust their word of honor in the search for justice and peace to both the slain SAF and MILF troopers and their wounded, including civilians caught in the crossfire.

As proclaimed peace partners, both the government and the MILF must be given the chance to prove this partnership is truly working in the real world, and not just in somebody’s dreams. But we must stay the course for the peace process no matter how the path to get there seems to be getting more and more difficult. This vicious cycle of hostilities and truce must stop.

Call me a hopeless optimist. For the past 17 years of protracted negotiations to come to a cherished conclusion, it is to our best interest that this partnership must produce sooner than later a lasting and enduring peace in Mindanao. We earnestly pray to both God and Allah our peace partners would be able to hurdle whatever challenges along course to reach the common good for all of us Filipinos.