Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Gov. Benjamin Diokno hosted Wednesday’s signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) establishing the Shari’ah Supervisory Board (SSB) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Finance Undersecretary Bayani Agabin, Bangsamoro Government Minister Mohammed Yacob, and National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) Officer-in-Charge Yusoph Mando also signed the MOA at the BSP head office in Manila.

According to Diokno, the MOA will establish the essential Shari’ah-compliance oversight framework on Islamic banking and finance matters, in line with the government’s broader efforts to promote Islamic finance in the country.

The MOA supplements the Joint Circular dated April 26 issued by the BSP, DOF, BARMM, and NCMF. It serves as a comprehensive document detailing the responsibilities of the SSB, whose primary function is to issue Shari’ah opinions on Islamic banking products and services.

The MOA also establishes the key role of the SSB in driving the business model of Islamic banking institutions and the sustainability of Islamic banking products or services that will be made available to all Filipinos.

The SSB will be composed of one representative each from the SSB founding agencies and five representatives from the private sector. The collective knowledge of these members on Islamic jurisprudence and their expertise in finance, economics, law, and banking will ensure that the opinions of the SSB are backed by the appropriate knowledge and experience.

“This collaboration does not end with the signing of the Joint Circular and the MOA. The government and the private sector will continue to collaborate until we realize our vision of establishing an Islamic banking and finance ecosystem that can viably operate alongside the conventional system,” the Governor explained. BSP