• Member of Parliament Romeo Sema;
• Minister Muslimin Sema and MOLE officials;
• Chief of Staff Laguiab, Ms Arumpac, technical and staff members of the Bangsamoro Parliament’s Committee on Labor and Employment;
• Brothers and sisters from national federations and trade union centres, and Bangsamoro workers representatives;
• ILO colleagues;
• Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,
Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh!

The International Labour Organization (ILO) works with partners and communities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to promote decent work, sustainable development and lasting peace. We also look at the future of work and help address challenges in the region on decent work, child labour, skills development, labour administration, water supply, climate change and other issues.

Today, we are discussing important labour and employment legislations with workers from BARMM.

We thank and congratulate MP Romeo Sema’s Office and the Secretariat for bringing them together, and making this summit possible.

We collaborated with MP Romeo Sema in his prior role, and we are glad that the process to formulate the Bangsamoro Labour Code is moving forward in Parliament.

We also continue the active partnership with MOLE under the leadership of Minister Muslimin Sema, which we really value.

The ILO is pleased to work with you on this legislative milestone.

As the first specialized agency of the United Nations, the ILO promotes decent work, social justice, and lasting peace.

We support partners in adopting labour legislation consistent with international labour standards, as minimum global standards. This contributes to the Decent Work Country Programme of the Philippines on Labour Market Governance.

Decent work goes beyond job creation. It is about quality of employment. It promotes freely chosen employment, rights at work, social protection, and social dialogue, ensuring human-centred and participatory processes.

Decent work and world of work issues contribute to peace, social cohesion, and transitional justice in BARMM.

Decent work is a goal and a pathway to prosperity, equality, sustainable development, and lasting peace.

The ILO was founded over a hundred years ago to advance social justice. The ILO Constitution states “Universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice.”

As the only UN agency with a unique tripartite structure, the ILO brings together government, workers’ and employers’ organizations - giving them an equal voice and enhancing their capacity to deliver.

The ILO welcomes the fact that proposed bills are being discussed today. These bills are important for good governance in the world of work.

Your voices matter as workers with the opportunity to review these bills, specifically:

The Bangsamoro Labor and Employment Code is the overarching framework to promote decent work. It is consistent with the Enhanced BARMM 12-Point Priority Agenda. It considers the national Labor Code and international labour standards.

The Bangsamoro Magna Carta for Workers in the Informal Economy seeks to protect workers and informal economic units. It also supports their transition from informal to formal economy based on ILO standards such as Recommendation 204.

The Bangsamoro Tripartism and Social Dialogue as significant Governance legislation, ensures meaningful participation of workers and employers in labour, employment and matters affecting them.

Social dialogue is both a goal and an enabling process to achieve decent work and promote democracy that leave no one behind.

Our initiative today responds to the ILO Global Call to Action for a human-centered recovery to protect workers by promoting fundamental rights and international labour standards.

We look forward to the results of this Summit. We count on you to support these and other bills for lasting peace, sustainable development, social justice and decent work in BARMM.

Sukran! Wassalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

May peace be upon us all!