Bangsamoro government approves civil service code

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) – Continuing with its governance efforts, the Bangsamoro Transitional Authority (BTA) in southern Philippines on Wednesday approved a civil service code.

A statement by the autonomous government said all the BTA members voted in favor of the Cabinet Bill No. 59, an act providing for the Bangsamoro Civil Service Code of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) – home to nearly five million ethnic Moros who are pre-dominantly Muslims.

“By nominal voting, 67 BTA members voted for the approval. None of the members voted against nor abstained,” the press release said.

The bill was signed in a ceremony attended by Chief Minister Murad Ebrahim and Parliament Speaker Atty. Ali Pangalian Balindong.

In 2018, a decades-long insurgency by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front led to peace negotiations with the Philippine government, and the BARMM was formed after the signing of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

Jan. 21 is celebrated as the foundation day of BARMM, the day when a plebiscite was held in 2019, which officially ratified the Bangsamoro Basic Law and provided for the establishment of the BARMM.

Last year, the autonomous government passed the Bangsamoro Administrative Code and declared Feb. 21 as a non-working holiday.