Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) chief minister Ahod Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim said Monday he is expecting the three codes, which are part of the priority bills, to be passed this year.

In a “Laging Handa” briefing, Ebrahim said the parliament will file the Electoral Code, Local Government Code, and the Revenue Code during the first Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) session.

“There are three codes that were not completed, so we will file this during this opening session of the parliament. The first is the Local Government Code. We filed this last time but it was not finished so we have to refile it in the next parliament. This also includes the Electoral Code that was finished but will also be filed. And then, the Revenue Code will also be filed within the first BTA regular session,” Ebrahim said.

“We are hoping that these three codes will be completed within the year, or the latest would be the first quarter of next year,” he added.

The BTA will also focus on medical and health services, education, strategic infrastructure, and social services, aside from preparing for the 2025 Elections, Ibrahim told the briefing.

In an inaugural ceremony of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) 2022-2025 on September 15, Ebrahim announced that the first BTA enacted 31 bills and adopted 263 resolutions from 2019 to 2022.

The ceremony was attended by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., who was given draft copies by Ebrahim of the Local Government Code and the Electoral Code.

Ebrahim said they plan to file over 20 Cabinet bills and other important measures at the start of the parliament session. Jaspearl Tan/DMS