EDITORIAL – On the use of aliases

What’s in a name?
In the eyes of the Senate, a lot, particularly in the case of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal. The latter’s use of a nom de guerre has been a prickly point for some time now, enough to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to pry his real name from him during yesterday’s hearing at the Senate on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). Iqbal steadfastly refused to reveal his name to the senators, but pointed out that the government actually knows it. “‘’The government has known everything about me,” he said. “I’ve been engaging the government for 42 years. Nothing can be hidden from the government, they know it (my real name).”
But why use an alias in the first place? This is something many Filipinos do not understand, but it reflects a reality that many Mindanaoans have faced for decades now. “When we started our revolutionary struggle,” Iqbal said, “the situation was very hard. Many of my relatives were arrested, incarcerated. That gave enough reason for anyone…really to adopt measures that would ensure that their security is not compromised.” In other words, an alias for the MILF was a necessity, something that literally meant life or death not just for them but for their families. Think “Spider-Man” or any other comic book superhero, those who wear masks to protect not themselves but their loved ones.
One more thing to remember is that, as Iqbal has pointed out time and again, the MILF is still a revolutionary group. What has been signed between it and the government is effectively a ceasefire, but the group’s status has not changed. It will only be transformed once a final peace agreement has been signed, and this is hinged precisely on the fate of the BBL which legislators are apparently holding hostage in light of the Mamasapano incident that saw the deaths of 44 members of the Special Action Force (SAF). Since the MILF is a rebel group, it stands to reason that Iqbal and his colleagues must still hold their cards – and their identities – close to their chests. There is no point in forcing them to reveal their names, especially since it is fast becoming a derailing factor for the BBL.