What happened
The Bangsamoro Transition Authority, the appointed Parliament that has governed the region since 2019, held its last session on 22 October 2026. In his closing report, Speaker Mohammad Yacob counted 94 laws passed in seven years, among them six of the region's seven priority codes (Manila Standard).
The seventh, the Revenue Code, now goes to the region's first elected Parliament, which takes office at noon on 30 October (The Manila Times).
What a priority code is
A code is one law that gathers the rules for a whole field: how government is organised, how its people are hired, how elections run. The Bangsamoro Organic Law, Republic Act No. 11054, told the transition to pass these first, because the region's powers on paper only work once there are rules to exercise them.
The law names an Administrative Code, a Revenue Code, an Electoral Code, a Local Government Code and an Educational Code, and lets the Parliament add a Civil Service Code (Article XVI, Section 4). Until the local government and election codes were passed, the old ARMM rules applied. The Parliament counts its law on indigenous peoples' rights as the seventh.
The seven priority codes
Six became law in the transition. The Revenue Code did not.
- Administrative CodeBangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 13, October 2020How the regional government is organised: its ministries, offices and their powers.
- Civil Service CodeBangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 17, February 2021How government workers are hired, paid, promoted and disciplined.
- Education CodeBangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 18, May 2021The region’s school system, from basic education to madaris.
- Electoral CodeBangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 35, March 2023How Members of Parliament are elected, the law behind the first regional elections.
- Local Governance CodeBangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 49, September 2023What provinces, towns and barangays may do, and how they are funded.
- Indigenous Peoples’ Rights ActBangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 64, December 2024The rights of the region’s non-Moro indigenous peoples, their lands and their governance.
- Revenue CodeNot passed · Parliament Bill No. 286, still at second readingWhat taxes the regional government may collect, at what rates, and how.
The six that passed
The Administrative Code (Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 13, October 2020) set up the regional government itself: its ministries and offices, what each does and the powers it holds. It was the first of the codes, and the one the others build on.
The Civil Service Code (BAA No. 17, February 2021) covers the people who work in that government: how they are hired, paid, promoted and disciplined, within the Civil Service Commission's national rules.
The Education Code (BAA No. 18, May 2021) built the region's own school system, from basic education to madaris.
The Electoral Code (BAA No. 35, March 2023) set how Members of Parliament are elected, the law behind the first regional elections of 14 September 2026. Two amendments in January 2026 removed the "none of the above" option from the ballot (BAA No. 87) and opened the field to more regional parties (BAA No. 88) (Manila Standard).
The Local Governance Code (BAA No. 49, September 2023) set out what provinces, cities, towns and barangays may do, how they are run and how they are funded, replacing the old ARMM local government code.
The Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act (BAA No. 64, December 2024) protects the rights of the region's non-Moro indigenous peoples, their ancestral lands and their own governance.
Beyond the seven, the transition also passed a Labor and Employment Code (BAA No. 82, November 2025).
The one to go: the Revenue Code
The six codes set up a government, its staff, its schools, its elections and its towns. The Revenue Code answers the question underneath all of them: how the region pays for itself.
The Organic Law gives the Bangsamoro Government fiscal autonomy and "the power to create its own sources of revenues and to levy taxes, fees, and charges", which "shall accrue exclusively" to it (Article XII, Sections 1 and 6). It says the Parliament "shall enact a Bangsamoro tax revenue code, which shall cover taxing powers of the Bangsamoro Government" (Section 14).
That code would say which taxes, fees and charges the region collects, at what rates, from whom, with what exemptions, and who collects them. The Organic Law also provides for a Bangsamoro Revenue Office to assess and collect them; until it exists, the Bureau of Internal Revenue collects (Section 11).
Where the region’s money comes from
The block grant and the tax share are set by national law. The part the region raises itself waits on the Revenue Code.
- Annual block grantA share of national tax and customs collections, sent each year. Never less than the last ARMM budget.Organic Law, Art. XII, Sec. 15
- Share of national taxes collected in the region75% to the region; for the first ten years, the National Government’s 25% goes to the region too.Organic Law, Art. XII, Sec. 10
- The region’s own taxes, fees and chargesLevied by the Bangsamoro Government itself, kept wholly by it. Needs a Revenue Code to set what, how much and who collects.Organic Law, Art. XII, Secs. 6, 14Needs the code
- Natural resourcesShares of what is earned from the region’s land and waters.Organic Law, Art. XII, Sec. 6(d)
Why the Revenue Code matters
Why it matters
The other six codes built a government. The Revenue Code is how it pays its own way.
- 01Money the region decides onThe block grant and the tax share follow national formulas. The region’s own taxes are the one source its Parliament fully controls.Organic Law, Art. XII, Sec. 1
- 02It stays in the regionTaxes, fees and charges the region levies “accrue exclusively” to the Bangsamoro Government.Organic Law, Art. XII, Sec. 6
- 03Rules everyone can seeWhat is taxed, at what rate and who is exempt, set in one law, uniform and fair, so businesses and towns can plan.Organic Law, Art. XII, Secs. 7, 14
- 04Its own collectorThe code’s companion is a Bangsamoro Revenue Office. Until it exists, the national Bureau of Internal Revenue collects.Organic Law, Art. XII, Sec. 11
- 05Before the ten-year window closesFor the first ten years, the National Government’s 25% of taxes collected in the region goes to the region too. After that, unless extended, the region’s own revenue counts for more.Organic Law, Art. XII, Sec. 10
Every other code spends money: on ministries, staff, schools, elections and towns. Without a Revenue Code, its main funds stay set by national formulas, and the region's own power to tax, granted in the Organic Law, stays on paper. The code is what turns fiscal autonomy from a word in the law into money the region raises, keeps and decides on.
It also matters to anyone who pays. Until the code is passed, a trader, an investor or a town cannot know for certain what the region will charge, how much, or who will collect it.
The code cannot tax anything it likes. The Organic Law rules some taxes out.
Where the taxing power stops
Whatever the code says, the Organic Law already rules some taxes out.
- Income tax, except on banks and other financial institutions
- Customs duties, and charges on goods passing through the region
- Farm and fish products sold by marginal farmers and fisherfolk
- Businesses certified as pioneer or new, for a set period
Where the Revenue Code stands
The Revenue Code’s road so far
Seven years of the transition, and it never reached a final vote.
- June 2019Parliament forms an ad hoc committee on the Revenue Code in its first months.
- 28 Feb 2024Parliament Bill No. 286, the Bangsamoro Revenue Code, is filed by the Government of the Day.
- 29 Oct 2025Committee Report No. 175 is adopted. The bill goes to second reading on the floor.
- Nov 2025 – Jul 2026Debate is deferred 27 times on the floor; the latest deferral on record is 16 July 2026.
- 22 Oct 2026The transition Parliament holds its last session. The bill is not passed.
- 30 Oct 2026The elected Parliament takes office. Lawmakers say the code will be on its priority agenda.
The Revenue Code is Parliament Bill No. 286. It was filed on 28 February 2024 and got through committee: Committee Report No. 175 was adopted on 29 October 2025. On the floor, its consideration was deferred again and again, 27 times by 16 July 2026 in the records BetterBARMM holds, and it never came to a final vote before the transition ended.
It is now for the elected Parliament to take it up again, whether from Bill No. 286 and its committee report or from a new draft.
Other measures waiting
The Revenue Code is the last priority code, but not the only unfinished business. Speaker Yacob's report names the transition's direction-setting agenda of November 2025, of which four measures became law: the Labor and Employment Code, the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Act, the Budget System Act and the law apportioning the 32 parliamentary districts (Manila Standard). What else carries over will depend on what the new Parliament refiles.
What to watch after 30 October
- Whether the Revenue Code is refiled quickly, and whether it starts from Bill No. 286 or a new draft.
- Which committee takes it, and when it holds public hearings. Hearings are where towns, businesses and residents can be heard.
- The rates and exemptions, once a draft is public: what it taxes, how much, and what it leaves alone.
- The Bangsamoro Revenue Office, the body that would collect, and when it is set up.
Follow the bill on BetterBARMM Legislation, where each reading and vote is added as the Parliament's records come in.