Biosketch of MP Atty. Raissa H. Jajurie

MP Atty. Raissa H. Jajurie is a Member of the Bangsamoro Parliament, having been nominated thereto by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).  She is also a Deputy Floor Leader of the Parliament and chairs its Committee on Local Government.

For over twenty years, MP Raissa served in a number of roles at the Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (SALIGAN), an alternative law group that seeks to empower poor and vulnerable sectors and identities. She was active in human rights advocacy, working with workers, Muslim women, Moro lawyers, and Moro communities.

MP Raissa co-founded Nisa Ul-Haqq fi Bangsamoro (Women for Justice in the Bangsamoro), an organization based in Zamboanga City that helps improve the lives of grassroots women through trainings, community dialogues, research and policy advocacy.

In late 2011, she became the first woman to join the MILF delegation in negotiating with the Government of the Philippines (GPH) for peace in the Bangsamoro. She eventually became part of the legal pool that helped the panels arrive at the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro in 2012 and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed in 2014 and on which basis the Bangsamoro Organic Law was crafted.   She now sits as an alternate member of the MILF Peace Implementing Panel.
In 2013, MP Raissa was appointed by the President to be a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), upon nomination by the MILF. In the BTC, she was Chair of the Committee on Fiscal Autonomy, assigned to draft the provisions associated with taxation, revenue-generation and wealth sharing, economy and patrimony, among others. Again, in 2017, she was appointed to the second BTC.

From 2019 up to the present when MP Raissa was appointed as Member of the Parliament, she was designated as Sub-Committee Chairperson  of the Committee on Finance, Budget, and Management for the budget deliberations for 4 consecutive years.  She was also designated as Chairperson in the Panel tasked to conduct public consultations for the Bangsamoro Administrative Code [Cabinet Bill No. 60, now Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) No. 13], the Bangsamoro Civil Service Code (Cabinet Bill No. 59, now BAA No. 17), and the Bangsamoro Sustainable Development Board Act (Parliament Bill No. 53, now BAA No. 31).

MP Raissa represented the Government of the Day in defending cabinet bills in the committee and plenary deliberations, including the two priority legislations, i.e., the Bangsamoro Administrative Code, and the Bangsamoro Civil Service Code, as well as BAA No. 05 creating the Bangsamoro Attorney-General’s Office, BAA No. 06 creating the Bangsamoro Socio-Economic Development Planning System, and BAA No. 08 creating the Bangsamoro Women Commission.

As principal author, MP Raissa successfully defended in plenary what became Approved Resolution (AR) No. 48 giving full support to the Bangsamoro Children’s Declaration, and AR No. 150 commending the Senate for shepherding the process of the enactment of Senate Bill No. 2214 resetting the first regular elections in the BARMM.

She also concurrently is the Minister of Social Services and Development, and Chairperson of the Social Development Committee under the Bangsamoro Development Economic Council (BEDC).

MP Raissa H. Jajurie hails from Jolo, Sulu.  She finished Political Science at the Ateneo de Manila and Law at University of the Philippines.