The Ministry of Human Settlements and Development (MHSD), represented by Atty. IV Nasihah S. Mamarungcas and Cashier III Nasibah S. Pangca, attended the Islamic Finance in the Bangsamoro – Technical Working Group (IFB-TWG) Secretariat Meeting held at Precious Cabana Ynna Beach Resort on July 12, 2021.

The meeting was based on the discussions, agreed upon during the first IFB-TWG meeting held last June 28, this year, where it was decided that the Secretariat was to enable the Head and members to level off and collectively decide on various matters.

The meeting served as the venue for the finalization of several activities, timelines, and other requirements of the Secretariat’s three sub-groups. The three sub-groups the Secretariat was divided into were based on the top three target outputs of the IFB-TWG.

The sub-groups are the Research Group, whose major outputs will be on Baseline Research, and Economic Profile and Survey of BARMM PAPs; the Linkages Group, whose major outputs will be on Survey and Mapping and Building the Ecosystem of BARMM IF Stakeholders; and the Capacity Development Group whose major outputs will be on Training, Knowledge and Expertise Building, and Sustainability and Continuity.

After the meeting, the initial set of activities of the three sub-groups was plotted, complete with a timeframe, which will be presented to the IFB-TWG for approval on their second Regular Meeting, which will happen on August 23, 2021.

The IFB-TWG was created via Memorandum Order No. 0012, Series of 2021, which stated that the TWG, as component drivers of socio-economic development in the BARMM, shall serve as the main instrumentality of the Bangsamoro Government for the comprehensive promotion and development of Islamic Finance and Halal economic ecosystems.

One of the accomplishments under the MOwas the IFB Program launched through the partnership between the Office of the Chief Minister, the Ministry of Finance, and Budget and Management, and the Office of Parliament Member Anna Tarhata Basman, in which MHSD Minister Hamid Aminoddin D. Barra and Director General Esmael W. Ebrahim, participated.

Atty. Mamarungcas and Cashier Pangca expressed their gratitude to be part of the IFB-TWG Secretariat. As part of MHSD holding #TrabahoKoIbadahKo as one of its banner taglines, they pray these efforts will be accepted by Allah (S.W.T.) and be beneficial to the Bangsamoro and all stakeholders.

Along with MHSD representatives were participants from the Office of the Chief Minister (OCM), Ministry of Finance, and Budget and Management (MFBM), Office of MP Anna Tarhata Basman, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR), Ministry of Trade, Investments and Tourism (MTIT), Bangsamoro Bureau of Investment (BBOI), Bangsamoro Darul-Ifta’ (BDI), Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA), and Bangsamoro Treasury Office (BTO).