Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Secretary Teresita Q. Deles yesterday expressed hope that the issue over the use of many names by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal will not derail the peace process even as senators already expressed their intention to expose his true civil name in today’s hearing.
Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. said it is imperative that the MILF official reveal his real name before the Senate to prove that the MILF’s peace partnership with the government is indeed genuine and a matter of “good faith” on the part of the rebel group.
Iqbal is set to face the Senate today at 10 a.m. as the Senate Committee on Local Government, joint with the Peace, Unification, and Reconciliation, Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes panels are scheduled to resume its hearings on the BBL.
Members of the government’s peace panel and the MILF officials are expected to appear once again to tackle the controversial measure, which was stalled following the bloody Mamasapano incident last Jan. 25.
For Deles, who was interviewed by former Senator Orlando Mercado in his radio program aired over radio station 92.3 Radyo Singko over the weekend, the use of aliases among MILF leaders should not be an issue in the peace process.
Manila Bulletin
