Cotabato City is a chartered City geographically

surrounded by the Province of Maguindanao that belongs

to the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Yet the City is considered part of Region XII, not of ARMM.
Based on the 2001 Plebiscite, ARMM would also include
the provinces of Lanao del Sur (located north of
Maguindanao), Tawi Tawi, Sulu and Basilan, with Marawi
as the lone City of the Region. On the other hand, Region
XII, as provided under Executive Order No. 36 issued on
September 2001, includes the provinces of North
Cotabato, South Cotabato Saranggani, Sultan Kudarat
and the cities of Cotabato, General Santos, Kidapawan,
Koronadal, and Tacurong.
This unusual situation makes local governance a bit tricky
and complicated because of the influences of these two
inherent administrative and political bodies on the social,
economic, and political aspects of Cotabato City. The City
has physical and economic linkages with the surrounding
towns of the Maguindanao Province. These connections
are further enhanced by the transport links primarily
through the port and the airport, which are both located
outside the City. In terms of planning procedures
mandated by the Local Government Code, the City's
development plans would have to be integrated with that
of Region XII, not of ARMM. Already, there have been
issues, like waste disposal and water resource
development, whose resolutions have been constrained
by territorial and jurisdictional difficulties.
Other issues impact on the conduct of commerce.
Businessmen could not expect direct action by City
officials on the alleged high fees and double charges at
the port, simply because it is beyond the jurisdiction of the
City. The same goes to securing LTO permits and
franchises on public transportation, which the traders have
to do twice – one with the City and one with the
Maguindanao province – in order to bring their goods to
and from Cotabato City.
The local government's efforts on peace and order are
also affected. Although many would say that there has
been a decrease in the frequency of crime and violence in
the City, these are not appreciated by outsiders who still
equate the City with the untoward incidents in the
provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato and South
Cotabato, or even in other parts of Mindanao. Thus,
investors and travelers alike shy away from the City
because of this image problem. Efforts should be exerted
by all sectors in Cotabato City to mitigate this negative
image. This will be a key and a part of the development
proposals for this sector.

EXISTING GOVERNMENT MACHINERY

Cotabato City is an independent component city of
Maguindanao Province of the Autonomous Region for
Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) but the city is administratively
linked to Region XII. The City Government of Cotabato is
composed of twelve (12) functional offices with a total of
1,014 workforces. It is composed of the following offices
under the direct supervision and administration of the City
Mayor.
City Treasury Office (CTO)
City Assessor's Office (CAO)
City Planning and Development Office (CPDO)
City Civil Registry Office (CCRO)
Office on General Services (OGS)
City Budget Office (CBO)
City Accounting and Internal Audit Services (CAIAS)
Office for Legal Services (OLS)
Office on Health Services (OHS)
Office on Social Welfare and Development Services
(OSWDS)
Office for Veterinary Services (OVS)
City Engineering Office (CEO)
The City Administrator and the Secretary to the Mayor
provides direct staff functions to the City Mayor.
In terms of manpower, the Office of the City Mayor has the
biggest number of government workers making-up 18.93
% of the total work force. Next is the Office General
Services with a total of 169 employees. The office with the
least number of personnel is the office on Legal Services
with only 14 personnel.
As of December 31, 1999, the City Government of
Cotabato has a total working force of 1,014. By status of
appointment, eligibility and highest educational attainment.
Out of the 1,014 city government workers, officers and
officials, 64.30 (%) enjoy permanent status of employment,
30.86 (%) are casuals and 4.84% are elected.
Government employees who posses the desired
eligibilities total to 621 or 61.24% while 393 or 38.75% do
not posses the necessary / required eligibility. Personnel
who have completed college education make - up 79.68%.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Basically, local government functions deal with community
basic social services extension, public works and
engineering, administrative and legal services. Since the
approval and implementation of the Local Government
Code of 1991 otherwise known as Republic Act 7160,
important administrative reforms and innovations are
instituted to provide better public services which aims
towards a more cohesive, integrated, specialized and
responsive administrative machinery, systems and
processes. A proposed City Organizational Structure
(Annex A) is planned to be implemented in the next ten
years to specifically provide for services not yet present or
functional in the existing city government set-up is viewed
as a responsive effort on the part of the city government
for the promotion of a more productive and self-reliant
community. Also, the provision of the required manpower
in the city government structures provide for a more
substantive participation of the different units of the city
government in the formulation, implementation and
monitoring of development plans, policies, strategies and
projects.
The local policy and law-making bodies at the local levels
are the Sangguniang Panlungsod for the city and the
Sangguniang Barangay for the 37 Barangays. Both bodies
enact ordinances and pass resolutions for their respective
constituents. The president of the Liga ng mga Barangays
sits as member at the Sangguniang Panlungsod to
present proposals, recommendations and seek early
resolution of problems / issues affecting barangays. As
observed, there is a very close coordinative mechanisms
formed by these two local launching bodies.