CEREMONIAL SIGNING. BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim (left) is joined by BTA Parliament Speaker Atty. Pangalian M. Balindong (right) during ceremonial signing today, November 17 of the Bangsamoro Administrative Code. The historic signing of the Bangsamoro Administrative Code will define the structural, functional, and procedural principles and rules of governance of the BARMM and fulfilling one of the mandates during the transition period. (GALao with photo by PNEBalindong/ Publication and Media Relations Division, BTA Parliament)

COTABATO CITY — Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim and Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament Speaker Pangalian M. Balindong led the ceremonial signing today, November 17, 2020 of the Bangsamoro Administrative Code during session no. 44 of the second regular session with the presence of other Members of the Parliament.

The momentous event took place following the approval of the ‘code’ by the BTA Parliament on October 28, 2020, in a two-day special session where Parliament members unanimously voted in favor of the passage. Through nominal voting, 26 members voted physically while 32 voted via Zoom teleconference. All of them voted “yes” and nobody abstained on the approval of the bill.

In a previous statement, Ebrahim said he hopes “our passion for the Bangsamoro remain unshaken, regardless of the pandemic and the countless challenges ahead.”

“We are writing history by providing the form and structure of the Bangsamoro Government and fulfilling one of our mandates during the transition period,” Ebrahim said.

Further, Balindong emphasized the Bangsamoro Administrative Code is very significant and it is proper that they hold the ‘signing’ in the presence of the other Members of the Parliament who worked very hard to see the approval of the code.

“There’s a reason for the Bangsamoro people to be happy and jubilant because at last we now have our Administrative Code,” Balindong stressed.

The Bangsamoro Administrative Code is one of the priority legislations that the Bangsamoro parliament needs to pass before the end of the transition period. It will define the structural, functional, and procedural principles and rules of governance of the Bangsamoro region. (GALao, Publication and Media Relations Division, BTA Parliament)