A CPA Lawyer by profession, Hisham Nazz Ala Biruar is a native of Cotabato City born to an Iranun father and a Maguindanaon mother.
After passing the Career Service Professional Exam in 2011 where he ranked first among the successful examinees from ARMM, and the CPA Licensure Examination in 2013, he began his career in government as an Accountant in the Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA-ARMM). As a young, promising accountant, his work involved the review of financial data and preparation of financial reports and statements of the office.
Taking a leap of faith, he then decided to pursue further studies and embark on his law school journey. As an active student leader, he served as the Vice-President of the Ateneo Law Student-Advocates for Bangsamoro Rights (AL-SABAR) for two consecutive terms from 2014 to 2016. In 2017, he became the lone representative of his Alma Mater and one of the sixty (60) law students nationwide qualified to participate in the Rule of Law: 1st National Congress for Law Students organized by The Asia Foundation, in partnership with the Office of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
It was in the Ateneo Legal Aid Office where he was first exposed to the practice of law. A champion of the basic tenet of social justice that those who have less in life should have more in law, the office caters to indigent clients, mostly labor cases involving illegal termination. Under the direct supervision of Dean Manuel P. Quibod, he, along with other students of the law, assisted in case theory development, research of relevant law doctrines and jurisprudence, pleading and position paper-drafting, and interview of clients. He also had a short stint as a Legal Intern of Liong Law Office under the tutelage of Atty. Warren Rex Hernandez Liong, CPA who was recently appointed as the Overall Deputy Ombudsman of the Office of the Ombudsman.
While waiting for the results of the 2018 Philippine Bar Examination and upon realizing the need to further broaden his knowledge particularly on issues affecting the Bangsamoro Region and its people, he participated in the 16th Series Philippine Shari’ah Training Seminar, a 45-day training program conducted by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF). An opportunity likewise presented itself to reconnect with his roots, this time in the field of accounting, when he was offered a post as an Accounting Analyst in the Regional Budget and Management Office (RBMO), now Ministry of Finance, and Budget and Management, where he was tasked to prepare the financial statements of two locally-funded agencies of the defunct ARMM, specifically the Bureau on Cultural Heritage (BCH) and the Regional Commission on Bangsamoro Women (RCBW). He began offering his legal, notarial, and consultancy services to various businesses and offices such as the Polloc Freeport and Special Ecozone in Parang, Maguindanao after his admission to the Philippine Bar.
Prior to his appointment as the Head of the Legislative Measures and Legal Assistance Division of the Bangsamoro Parliament, he served as the Chief of Staff (Supervising Political Affairs Officer III) of one of the Parliament Members, Hon. Abraham T. Burahan, since 2019. With his legal knowledge, he assisted his principal in the review and evaluation of various legislative measures. As a result, before the opening of the Third Regular Session of the Bangsamoro Parliament, MP Burahan was able to principally author ten (10) adopted resolutions, co-author eighteen (18) adopted resolutions, principally author 1 (one) approved bill, and co-author eight (8) approved bills including the landmark legislations in the Bangsamoro Region so far passed: the Bangsamoro Administrative Code, the Bangsamoro Civil Service Code, and the Bangsamoro Education Code. As his principal is also a member of the Committee on Finance, Budget, and Management of the Parliament, his accounting background was put into use during committee deliberations on the proposed 2020 and 2021 Bangsamoro Expenditure Program, which later became the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) No. 3 for the 2020 Bangsamoro Budget and the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) No. 15 for the 2021 Bangsamoro Budget.
A Dean’s Lister in his college and graduate studies, Sham is a Graduating Class President and a holder of a Bachelor’s Degree in Accountancy from Notre Dame University, and a proud product of the Juris Doctor Degree Program of the Ateneo de Davao University as a third-ranked graduate of the Ateneo Law Class of 2018. Outside government service, he is a Finance and Legal Consultant, a Notary Public, and an active member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines – Cotabato Chapter, having been duly elected as its Treasurer from 2021 to 2023.
Legislative Measures and Legal Assistance Division
legal@bta.gov.ph
sham.biruar@bta.gov.ph
PRLS (Policy Research and Legal Services) 