1 Republic of the Philippines 2 Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao 3 BANGSAMORO TRANSITION AUTHORITY 4 Cotabato City 5 6 7 8 BTA Parliament Bill No. ________ 9 10 11 Introduced by : <<Name>> 12 13 14 AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE BANGSAMORO ADMINISTRATIVE 15 CODE AND FOR OTHER RELATED PURPOSES 16 17 18 BE IT ENACTED by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority in Parliament 19 assembled, as follows: 20 21 22 INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS 23 24 Sec. 1. Title. - This Act shall be known and cited as the “Bangsamoro 25 Administrative Code.” 26 27 Sec. 2. Purpose. – This Code is promulgated to prescribe the structural, 28 functional and procedural principles and rules of governance of the Bangsamoro 29 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao during the period of transition, and shall 30 remain effective until the regular Bangsamoro Government amends or repeals the 31 same. 32 33 Sec. 3. Declaration of Principles and Policies. – The Bangsamoro 34 Government hereby declares the following principles and policies as the basic 35 foundation of the Code: 36 37 a. The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is an 38 autonomous region with asymmetrical relationship with the Republic of 39 the Philippines and with a parliamentary form of government. Its political 40 system is democratic that allows its people to freely participate in the 41 political processes within its territorial jurisdiction;1 42 b. The Bangsamoro Government recognizes and protects the customs and 43 traditions, beliefs, and cultures of its indigenous inhabitants. The right of 1 See Sec. 3, Art. IV, BOL 1 1 indigenous peoples to a just and equal treatment shall be protected. They 2 shall be free from all forms of discrimination, oppression and exploitation; 3 c. The Bangsamoro Government recognizes the vital role of women and 4 youth, and the valuable contributions of differently-abled persons in 5 nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, 6 spiritual, intellectual, cultural and social well-being. It shall inculcate in 7 the minds of the youth patriotism and nationalism, and encourage their 8 involvement in public and civic affairs; 9 d. The Bangsamoro Government shall ensure every citizen in its territorial 10 jurisdiction the provision of the basic necessities and equal opportunities 11 in life. Social justice shall be promoted in all aspects of life and phases of 12 development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region2 ; 13 e. The Bangsamoro Government shall promote unity, peace, justice, and 14 goodwill among all peoples, encourage a just and peaceful settlement of 15 disputes3 and adopt the generally accepted principles of international law; 16 f. The Bangsamoro Government shall ensure the autonomy of its constituent 17 Local Government Units (LGUs); 18 g. The Bangsamoro Government shall develop a self-reliant and independent 19 regional economy effectively controlled by the Bangsamoro; 20 h. The Bangsamoro Government shall encourage the participation of non- 21 governmental, community-based, and sectoral organizations in 22 government affairs that promote the welfare of the region; 23 i. The Bangsamoro Government, in pursuit of moral governance, shall 24 maintain honesty, integrity, transparency and accountability in governance 25 and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption; and 26 j. Subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law, the Bangsamoro 27 Government adopts and implements a policy of full public disclosure of all 28 its transactions involving public interest. 29 30 Sec. 4. Definition of Terms. – The words in this Code are defined as 31 follows: 32 33 "Bangsamoro Government” refers to the corporate governmental 34 entity with jurisdiction over all matters granted to it by the Constitution, 35 Bangsamoro Organic Law and other pertinent laws, through which the 36 functions of autonomous governance are exercised throughout the 37 Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, including the various 38 instrumentalities through which political authority is made effective4 ; 39 40 “National Government” refers to the entire machinery of the central 41 government, as distinguished from the different forms of local governments5 ; 42 43 “Bangsamoro Autonomous Region" used interchangeably 44 herein with the “Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim 45 Mindanao” refers to the autonomous region established by virtue of 2 See Sec. 7, Art. IV, BOL 3 See Sec. 6, Art. IV, BOL 4 Derived from Sec. 4 (1), MMA 287 5 Derived from Sec. 4 (2), MMA 287 2 1 Republic Act No. 11054, also known as the “Organic Law for the Bangsamoro 2 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao”; 3 4 “Bangsamoro Organic Law” refers to Republic Act No. 11054, also 5 known as the “Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in 6 Muslim Mindanao”, which has for its purpose to establish a political entity, 7 provide for its basic structure of government in recognition of the justness and 8 legitimacy of the cause of the Bangsamoro People and the aspirations of 9 Muslim Filipinos and all indigenous cultural communities in the Bangsamoro 10 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to secure their identity and 11 posterity, allowing for meaningful self-governance within the framework of 12 the Constitution and the national sovereignty as well as territorial integrity of 13 the Republic of the Philippines; 14 15 "Local Government" refers to the constituents units of the 16 Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, such as the 17 component provinces, cities, municipalities, barangays and such other 18 political subdivisions established by law or in accordance with the 19 Bangsamoro Organic Law; 20 21 "National agency" refers to a unit of the National Government6 ; 22 23 "Ministry" refers to a cabinet portfolio created by law and/or 24 counterparts of the National Government previously devolved to the former 25 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, exercising executive authority in 26 the Bangsamoro Government; 27 28 "Office" refers, within the framework of governmental organization, to 29 any major functional unit of the Bangsamoro Government or its ministries. It 30 may also refer to any position held or occupied by individual persons whose 31 functions are defined by law7 ; 32 33 "Instrumentality" refers to any agency of the Bangsamoro 34 Government, not integrated within the ministry framework vested with 35 special functions or jurisdiction by law, endowed with some if not all 36 corporate powers, administering special funds, and enjoying operational 37 autonomy, usually through a charter. This term includes regulatory agencies, 38 chartered institutions and government-owned or controlled corporations8 ; 39 40 “Government of the Day” refers to the political party or party 41 coalition with a majority in the Bangsamoro Parliament.9 The Government of 42 the Day forms the executive government, composed of ministers, and headed 43 by the Chief Minister. During the transition period, the Moro Islamic 44 Liberation Front – led majority and other Members of the Bangsamoro 6 Derived from Sec. 4 (6), MMA 287 7 Derived from Sec. 4 (11), MMA 287 8 Derived from Sec. 4 (12), MMA 287 9 https://lawgovpol.com/legal-studies-glossary-e-k/ 3 1 Parliament who agree to the manifesto of the transition government shall be 2 considered as Government of the Day; 3 4 “Popular Initiative” refers to a piece of legislation proposed 5 directly by the people as part of participatory democracy in the Bangsamoro 6 Autonomous Region; 7 8 "Bangsamoro Government-owned or controlled corporation" 9 refers to any agency organized as a stock or non-stock corporation, vested 10 with functions relating to public needs whether governmental or proprietary 11 in nature, and owned by the Bangsamoro Government directly or through its 12 instrumentalities either wholly, or, partly, subject to the applicable provisions 13 of existing Corporation Laws10; 14 15 "Officer" as distinguished from "clerk" or "employee", refers to a person 16 whose duties, not being of a clerical or manual nature, involves the exercise of 17 discretion in the performance of the functions of the government. When used 18 with reference to a person having authority to do a particular act or perform a 19 particular function in the exercise of governmental power, "officer" includes 20 any government employee, agent or body having authority to do the act or to 21 exercise that function11; 22 23 "Employee", when used with reference to a person in the public 24 service, includes any person in the service of the government or any of its 25 agencies, divisions, subdivisions or instrumentalities12; 26 27 “Khalifa”, refers to a human as a vicegerent, trustee, steward of Allah 28 (Subhannahu Wa’ Taalah) on earth; 29 30 “Contracts” refer to written or unwritten agreements/meeting of the 31 minds between two or more persons or juridical entities; 32 33 “Regular Non-Working Holidays”, are those national and regional 34 holidays provided by law, which are observed throughout the area of 35 autonomy13; 36 37 “Special Holidays”, refers to non-regular holidays in the region and 38 certain local government units in observance of historical, religious and other 39 significant events which need official proclamation from the Chief Minister 14; 40 41 Settler Communities”, refers to those residing within the 42 territorial jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region who are not 43 covered by the definition of Article II Section 1 of the Bangsamoro Organic 10 Derived from Sec. 4 (15), MMA 287 11 Derived from Sec. 4 (16), MMA 287 12 Derived from Sec. 4 (17), MMA 287 13 Derived from Sec. 4 (21), MMA 287 14 Derived from Sec. 4 (22), MMA 287 4 1 Law nor considered to be a member of Indigenous Cultural Communities / 2 Indigenous People; and 3 “Moral Governance”, refers to the set of rules, practices, and 4 processes completely devoid of all the evils of graft and corruption, and 5 explicitly driven by the moral principles of utmost dedication, devotion, 6 honesty, justice, and integrity.15 7 8 15 Derived from the Oath of Moral Governance 5 1 BOOK I 2 BANGSAMORO AUTONOMY AND ADMINISTRATION 3 4 5 Chapter 1 6 The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region 7 8 Sec.