Mohagher Iqbal

Mohagher Iqbal (born in Cotabato City), is the nom de guerre of a Filipino politician and former revolutionary leader who was the chief peace negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and was a principal signatory of the 2012 Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro and the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, which paved the way for the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Since February 2019, he has served as the first MBHTE minister and as a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament.

Early life and education Iqbal was born around in Cotabato City and grew up in what is now Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science with a minor in History in 1969 and a Master of Arts in political science in 1972 from Manuel L. Quezon University in Manila; his graduate thesis was titled The Muslim Secession Movement in the Philippines.

Role in the peace process Iqbal was a principal signatory to: the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro, signed 15 October 2012; the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, signed 27 March 2014 at Malacañang Palace, which formally concluded peace negotiations between the GPH and the MILF.

He chaired the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), which drafted the Bangsamoro Basic Law, from 2013 to 2016, and returned as a commissioner when the BTC was expanded in 2017.

Political career Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament Iqbal took his oath as a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) on 22 February 2019; the BTA Parliament held its inaugural session on 29 March 2019 in Cotabato City.

In November 2024, Iqbal highlighted MBHTE's achievements at the Second Bangsamoro Education Summit, including over 1.1 million enrolled students, expansion of the AKAP program for remote learners, and growth of madrasah education and teacher hiring.

In 2025, MBHTE launched “Project Iqbal” to distribute learning kits and devices to ensure no Bangsamoro learner is left behind, and rolled out Peace and Justice Education modules with Save the Children and EU support.

In August 2025, the Commission on Audit ordered a special audit of MBHTE's ₱2.2 billion worth of alleged anomalous disbursements, including ₱1.77 billion paid in a single day and ₱449 million to one supplier.

On 11 May 2026, Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua ordered Iqbal to tender his resignation until 18 May on which he would have deemed "resigned". Iqbal confirmed his removal on 22 May but disputed the manner of his removal alleging he was not given a chance to properly turned over the ministry. Macacua took over the education ministry.

Name and authorship Iqbal's legal name has been a subject of public debate. In 2015, a Senate hearing raised the allegation that his real name is Datucan M. Abas. Iqbal declined to publicly confirm the claim, saying noms de guerre were commonly used in revolutionary contexts and that the government knew his identity.

During the peace talks, Iqbal co-signed key agreements with government panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, who later affirmed that Iqbal's identity was known to and accepted by the government.

Writing under the pen name Salah Jubair, Iqbal has authored several works on the Bangsamoro struggle and the peace process, including: Bangsamoro: A Nation Under Endless Tyranny (multiple editions) The Long Road to Peace: Inside the GRP–MILF Peace Process Negotiating Peace: An Insider Perspective of the Bangsamoro Struggle for Self-Determination (2018).

As of a 2026, feature in Rappler, Mohagber Iqbal remains to be the name the individual primarily uses in public. This includes using the name in signing official documents.