Shari’ah Supervisory Board in BARMM holds first meeting

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The Shari’ah Supervisory Board (SSB) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) held its historic inaugural meeting on 15 December 2023 at the Dusit Thani Manila in Makati City.

This is pursuant to the joint circular among its founding agencies composed of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Department of Finance (DOF), National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), and the Bangsamoro Government.

The SSB was formed to implement the founding agencies’ shared mandate under Republic Act No. 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law on the promotion of Islamic banking and finance in the BARMM and to complement the BSP’s Shari’ah Governance Framework for Islamic banks and Islamic banking units.

“The SSB is a convergence of expertise in Islamic jurisprudence and contemporary finance. It will strengthen Shari’ah oversight on Islamic banking and finance while complementing existing conventional governance frameworks,” BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said in his pre-recorded keynote message.

Its mandate is to issue opinions on Islamic banking transactions and products in the BARMM. The BSP, financial institutions, and other stakeholders may also request the SSB to provide opinions on matters related to Islamic banking and finance.

At the meeting, the Bangsamoro Government announced the appointments of Dr. Muhammad Nadzir S. Ebil and Dr. Ashraf Bin Md Hashim as SSB’s Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, respectively. Both are alumni of the Islamic University of Madinah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Ebil currently serves as the Dean of Graduate Studies and College of Shari’ah at Jamiat Cotabato and Institute of Technology. He is also a Jurist of the Bangsamoro Darul-Ifta’, an Islamic Advisory Council in the BARMM.

Dr. Hashim is internationally recognized as the Chairman of the Shari’ah Advisory Council of Bank Negara Malaysia, Chairman of the Shari’ah Committee of Bursa Malaysia, and member of the Shari’ah Advisory Council of Securities Commission Malaysia. The appointment of Dr. Ebil and Dr. Hashim guarantees a partnership of local and international Shari’ah scholars at the helm of the SSB.

Members of the SSB from the founding agencies are BSP Assistant Governor Arifa A. Ala, DOF Undersecretary Bayani H. Agabin, Bangsamoro Government Minister Mohammad S. Yacob, and NCMF Division Chief Aleah S. Marabur.

Other members are representatives from the private sector, namely, Dr. Rusni Binti Hassan, who serves as Dean of Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance at International Islamic University Malaysia and Chairperson of Shari’ah Committees of various Islamic financial institutions in Malaysia; Mr. Abdulwahid A. Inju, Mufti of Province of Tawi-Tawi; and Mr. Salih D. Musa, Philippine representative to the World Assembly of Muslim Youth.

The BSP is committed to promote Islamic banking and finance through prudential regulatory reforms, inter-agency cooperation, capacity building, and information campaign.