DAVAO CITY – The Bangsamoro autonomous government said it gave itself up to this year to pass two more priority codes for the region, leaving the more crucial economic set of laws on revenue as the last code remaining.
Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) said he has committed to deliver the Bangsamoro electoral code and the local governance code by the end of the year or first quarter of 2023.
During the inauguration ceremony for the new set of members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority on Thursday, Ebrahim personally handed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the printed copies of the draft electoral and local governance codes.
Ebrahim said that they intend to enact the Bangsamoro Indigenous People’s Rights Act, gender and development code, internally displaced people law, magna carta for persons with disabilities, irrigation system bill, and energy development corporation of the Bangsamoro charter.
The BTA announced it would also file more than 20 cabinet bills upon the start of the regular session.
“Rest assured, Mr. President, that we will complete all the remaining transition priorities and finish setting up a government not only for peaceful and orderly elections in 2025 but also a government capable of continuing the transformation of the Barmm into a progressive and responsive region,” he said.
The first BTA has enacted 31 bills and adopted 263 resolutions from 2019 to 2022. It also passed three of the six priority codes, the Bangsamoro Administrative Code, Bangsamoro Civil Service Code and the Bangsamoro Education Code.
This leaves the Bangsamoro Electoral Code, Local Government Code, and Revenue Code for crafting.
“We once again take our oath of moral governance as a symbol of our renewed commitment to dutifully finish the transition priorities, fight the ills of governance, and fulfill our Amanah-our trust to the Bangsamoro people,” Ebrahim said.
Ebrahim thanked President Marcos for heeding the call of the Bangsamoro people, particularly on the composition and leadership of the transition authority.
“We will make the successful implementation of the Bangsamoro peace process as one of your greatest legacies,” he said.