Law to create a new autonomous Muslim region in Philippines to be given priority

Senate President Franklin Drilon hopes that Congress will pass the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in Q1'15. The BBL is the enabling law of the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement outlines the general features of the political settlement between the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. It will pave the way for the creation of a new political entity that will replace the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), and end a long-drawn insurgency in Mindanao.

"Before we tackle the 2015 national budget in mid-November, I expect that the major details of the BBL have already been fleshed-out and senators have already put forward their concerns," Drilon said in a statement dated September 7.

"We will have to terminate temporarily the discussion on the BBL to give way for the 2015 budget. But we will immediately shift discussions back to the BBL once the budget is passed by the first or second week of December."

"Today's historical event is a major step forward by our country in our bid to recognise the right of our fellow Filipinos with a culture and history of their own as everyone else's equal. This event is particularly significant to me both as a son of Mindanao and as chair of the Senate Committee on Peace and Unification," said Senator Teofisto Guingona III in a statement on September 10 on the submission of the BBL to Congress. "I state for the record the commitment of the Senate Committee on Peace and Unification to ensure that this historic and landmark piece of legislation shall be completed and passed soonest."

"We need everyone's support for the crafting of an effective and lasting basic law to the Bangsamoro in both houses. No matter our political affiliations, we are all Filipinos and we all share a desire for peace, equality and prosperity as a nation," stressed Drilon.

Halal Middle East Exhibition & Congress to be held December in Sharjah

The third Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Halal Middle East Exhibition & Congress, from 8 to 10 December at Expo Centre Sharjah, is the only exhibition of its kind in the region. This year, the event will be adding halal pharmaceuticals, halal services, halal ingredients and halal finance to its scope. 

Source: Halal Middle East website.

The Halal Congress Middle East, jointly organised by Expo Centre Sharjah and the Halal Development Council of Pakistan, is an international gathering for food producers, exporters and importers, dealers and distributors and industry stalwarts to share up-to-date information on halal products; discuss issues facing the industry; explore opportunities that exist is each others’ markets; evaluate compliance, certification and standards; and look out for investment and joint venture opportunities in the UAE.

Global attention is on the UAE as the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) is working on unified standards for halal food and cosmetics, which, once approved by the OIC, will be introduced in all Islamic countries in the near future.

The global halal industry is also keenly watching the developments in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which had announced that they are considering making it mandatory for all meat imported into the region to carry a halal stamp.

A set of guidelines for halal certification bodies in the UAE is also in the works, apart from a unified code for halal products that is valid for the whole of GCC.