By Ali G. Macabalang

COTABATO CITY - “Mohagher Iqbal” is a nom de guerre for Datucan M. Abas, who retains such pseudonym from his stint with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) up to his current service in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) governance.

Iqbal enlisted in the undivided Moro National Liberation (MNLF) in 1972, using another Lubis Abas as a pseudonym. He followed the footsteps of the late Sheikh Salamat Hasim when the latter bolted the MNLF as one of its vice chairs in 1977 and organized the MILF.

He rose from the ranks to become a member of the MILF Central Committee and head of the Information Committee and peace negotiating panel.

Iqbal used the pen name “Salah Jubair” in writing two books on the Moro struggle, namely, “Bangsamoro, A Nation under Endless Tyranny: History of the Muslims in the Philippines” and “Long Road to Peace: Inside the GRP-MILF Peace Process.”

A month before the plebiscite for the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) known as R.A 11054, the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPCS) released Iqba’s new book entitled, “Negotiating Peace: An Insider’s Perspective to the Bangsamoros’ Struggle for Self-Determination.”

According to the narrative from a researcher-teacher, Iqbal demonstrated as MILF chief negotiator his “statesmanship, sagacity, and extraordinary patience, which were necessary for him to save the peace process from collapsing.”

“He needed to balance what is doable and what is not. On the negotiation table, he needed to fight for the rights and aspirations of the Bangsamoro people, to understand the limit of what the Philippine government could and could not give, and always impress upon the entire nation the need for peace [which can only be achieved through talks, compromise, and trust],” the narrative added.

The unnamed researcher-teacher described Iqbal as a “Revolutionary, Writer, Peace negotiator, a Man of patience, and a Hero.”

Iqbal’s patience has paid off against various pressing setbacks that oft-stalled MILF-Government peace talks.

“He (Iqbal) passed the tests (with) the MILF success” in the peace negotiations that resulted in the passage of BOL creating BARMM, the narrative said.

The narrative reckoned “the long and arduous GPH-MILF Peace Process” during which Iqbal had to “articulate the best way he can the MILF’s answers to several controversial issues” that peaked in the case of the Mamasapano encounter that left 44 elite police commandos hunting two known suspected terrorists in Maguindanao.

Is the MILF worth trusting after the Mamasapano incident? Is it legal for him to retain his MILF nom de guerre in public (BARMM) service? Is he holding a Malaysian passport? Is the BBL or BOL constitutional? These were among some mind-bungling questions asked of Iqbal, it added.

Iqbal wrote his point-blank answers in a letter, which the GMA News Online published on May 19, 2015. He summed up in his letter his argument that adopting the BBL/BOL was “the only way forward” in the protracted peace process.

He said the BBL “is the product of 17 years of long, harsh, and difficult negotiations between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the MILF; a menu for the unity of this country and antidote to secession; it answers legitimate grievances of the Moros against the government; and it will pave the way for peace and security and progress not only in the Bangsamoro and Mindanao but also for the entire country.”

Once the BBL is approved, the MILF “will rejoin the mainstream society and they will become productive … they can be a very reliable and effective partner of the government both in nation-building and defending this country;” If the BBL is disapproved “the MILF will eventually weaken and those espousing for radical agenda will become stronger because they have proved the MILF wrong in pursuing the path of peace;”

“If the BBL is (rejected) the MILF will eventually weaken and those espousing radical agenda will become stronger because they have proved the MILF wrong in pursuing the path of peace. Failure to pass the BBL will also result in widespread frustration that can generate new anti-government activities,” the narrative recalled Iqbal as saying.

Before his appointment to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, the interim ruling body in BARMM, Iqbal served as Chairman of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (from 2013 to 2016). As BTA Member, he holds the portfolio of Minister of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education.

Iqbal was born in Cotabato City, grew up in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, and obtained baccalaureate and master’s degrees in Political Science from Manuel L. Quezon University.(AGM)