Press Release
April 14, 2015

Like a bride who doesn't know her groom's real name
Gov't failed to conduct due diligence on peace panel counterparts--Nancy

Like a bride who's about to walk down the aisle but got a surprise of her life when she learned that her groom's name was not his real name.

That is how Senator Nancy Binay likened the government in its peace negotiation with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), after its representatives admitted in the Senate that they did not know the real name of Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF's chief peace negotiator.

"Ang lumalabas ay simula't sapul ay walang ginawang due diligence ang government peace panel kaya hindi nito alam ang tunay na pangalan ng mga counterparts nila sa negosasyon. And I'm surprised that up to the signing of the Agreement, di pa rin nila alam kung ano ang pangalan ng mga kausap nila for the past 17 years!" Binay said.

"Parang kwentong may hugot tuloy. Bago ikasal nalaman mo na di pala totoo yung pangalan ng nobyo mo. Eh paano kung nagkatuluyan? Ibig sabihin, naglalakad na siya sa simbahan pero si babae wala pa ring kaalam-alam na hindi pala tunay na pangalan ang ginagamit ng mapapangasawa niya," she added.

Even Presidential adviser on the peace process Teresita Deles as well as Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gregorio Catapang admitted that they do not know the real name of Iqbal.

Binay also expressed surprise why the AFP and the government peace panel were clueless of the backgrounds of their counterparts after 17 years of negotiating with members of the MILF.

"Sa kabila ng milyun-milyong intel budget ng AFP, bakit walang kaalam-alam ang gobyerno sa tunay na pagkatao ng mga kausap nila? Malinaw na failure of intelligence ito at may mali na agad sa confidence-building initiatives, at sukatan din ito ng gesture of good faith ng kabilang panig," she noted.

The lady senator pointed out that the military has clear and obvious lapses in its intelligence gathering.

"Isa po itong clear and obvious lapse on the information gathering mechanism of the AFP that it cannot even find out whether a person is using an alias or not," she said. "Kung hindi po lumabas ang isyung ito, malamang eh natuloy ang kasal na hindi alam ng babae kung ano ba talaga ang tunay na pangalan ng kanyang asawa hanggang sa nagkapirmahan sila ng marriage contract, at hanggang sa honeymoon period, ayaw pa rin sabihin ng lalaki kung sino sya."

Binay also questioned the AFP's intelligence fund in the military's failure to unearth relevant information surrounding the peace process and the personalities representing the MILF.

"Ano pong ginagawa ng milyun-milyong pondo ng AFP para sa intelligence kung hindi naman nito malaman ang tunay na identity ng mga tao?" she asked.

"Sana naman ay ginagamit ng maayos ng AFP at ng peace panel ang mga pondo nito upang malaman kahit yung mga simpleng bagay katulad ng tunay na pangalan ng mga kausap nito," Binay added.

Only the chief of the government peace panel, Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, admitted that she knew Iqbal's real name. She added that she found out Iqbal's real name during her research in the 1990s.

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