Assessment of the services of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in

Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in Cotabato city

Cotabato City State Polytechnic College

College of Business and Public Administration

Cotabato City

Bangen, Datu Barhaman S,

Chapter l

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Bangsamoro, officially the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim

Mindanao or BARMM is an autonomous region located in the southern

Philippines. Replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindananao(ARMM),

the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region was formed with the ratification of it’s

basic law, the Bangsamoro Organic Law following two-part legally-binding

plebiscite in Western Mindanao held on January 21 and February 6,2019. The

ratification was confirmed a few days later on January 25 by the Commission

on Elections(COMELEC). The Bangsamoro took the place of the ARMM as the

only Muslim-majority autonomous region in the Philippines. Currently in

transition until 2022, the Bangsamoro gornment has been considered a testing
ground for the wider debate on constitutional reform and federalism in the

Philippines.

The establishment of Bangsamoro was the culmination of several years of

peace talks between the Philippine government, and several autonomist

groups; in particular, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or MILF, which

rejected the validity of the ARMM and called for the creation of a region with

more powers devolved from the national government. A framework agreement

known as the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro was negotiated

between the Aquino administration and the MILF in 2014. After continued

negotiations and debates over certain provisions, the Congress of the

Philippines created and ratified a basic law for the region, now referred to as

the Bangsamoro Organic Law; the bill was signed into law by President Rodrigo

Duterte on July 26, 2018. Despite questions on the region's constitutionality,

as it would have adopted a parliamentary system in an area of a country with

a presidential system of government, no judicial ruling was made against the

organic law and consequently the COMELEC held two-part plebiscite: one by

ARMM citizens determining whether to dissolve the ARMM and immediately

replace it with the Bangsamoro, and, following the victory of the yes vote on the

first part, and the second part taken by neighboring municipalities and

barangays in the provinces of Lanao del Norte and Cotabato regarding their

cession to the Bangsamoro region. As a result of the second part of the

plebiscite, 63 barangays of Cotabato province were handed over to the

Bangsamoro government, adding to the autonomous region's territory.

 In the month of Decenber, year 2019. The first case of COVID-19 was

found in Wuhan, China and it spread all over the world including the

Philippines. Later on, the COVID-19 in Philippines continues to spread and

rises and it spread all over the country including in Region 12

SOCCSKSARGEN. As time goes on, the number of cases of COVID-19 was

continually increasing.

Due to increasing of COVID-19 cases in Region 12 SOCCSKSARGEN

including the Cotabato City, the BARMM Government had many services that

applied to the City of Cotabato. This services really helps the Cotabateños

especially helps them to cope up with this Pandemic and helps them to fulfil

their daily needs.

As the Pandemic goes on, many individuals had the problem on how

would they surpassed this situation and how would they live normally if they

have no work or jobs. Many Cotabateños lost their jobs and they don’t know

where they would find a job or how would they have job if this Pandemic really

exist. Since we cannot go outside without wearing face masks and face shields

plus they cannot go anywhere especially in crowded areas. Every country

become poor and lost many things. Every person is still coping up with the new

normal. With the help of the BARMM Government, the Cotabateños helps ease

the pain and trauma or shock in their hearts

 The BARMM government implemented services which helps the

Cotabateños. They did what they can do for the sake of their community and

for the improvement of their country.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the Benefits of BARRM Government

Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

1. What are the socio-demographic profile of the respondents?

2. What are the common services of the BARMM in Cotabato city during covid-

19 in terms of:

2.1. Relief Assistance

2.2. Medical Assistance

3. What are the common problems encountered by the respondents?

Theoretical Framework

This study is based on Parasuraman et al. (1988), service quality can be

defined as an overall judgment similar to attitude towards the service and

generally accepted as an antecedent of overall customer satisfaction (Zeithaml

and Bitner, 1996). Parasuraman et al. (1988) have defined service quality as
the ability of the organization to meet or exceed customer expectations. It is the

difference between customer expectations of service and perceived service

(Zeithaml et al., 1990). Perceived service quality results from comparisons by

customers of expectations with their perceptions of service delivered by the

suppliers (Zeithaml et al., 1990). If expectations are greater than performance,

then perceived quality is less than satisfactory and hence customer

dissatisfaction occurs (Parasuraman et al., 1985; Lewis and Mitchell, 1990).

Services unlike tangible products are produced and consumed at the

same time in the presence of the customer and the service producer. The

presence of the human element during the service delivery process greatly

increases the probability of error on the part of employees and customers. This

error is due to intangible behavioral processes that cannot be easily monitored

or controlled (Bowen, 1986). However, although a substantial amount of service

quality research has focused on service customers’ perceived service quality

(Parasuraman et al., 1988; Carman, 1990; Parasuraman et al., 1991; Babakus

and Boller, 1992; Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Babakus and Mangold, 1992),

relatively little attention has been paid to exploring the factors that impact on

service employees’ behavior with regard to delivering service quality.

More than two decades ago, Surprenant and Solomon (1987) stated that

service encounters are human interactions. They suggested that customers

and service providers have roles to play during and possibly after service

encounters and that these roles are based on “interpersonal interactions”

between organizations and customers. Service quality in all service encounters

is thus intrinsically affected by the perspectives of both the service provider

and the service receiver. Similarly, Czepiel (1990) concluded that research on

service quality must always include the perspectives of both the provider and

the receiver. However, most research on the service quality construct has been

restricted to one perspective: that of the service receiver (Parasuraman et al.,

1988; Guerrier and Deery, 1998). A few have applied dual perspectives and

considered interactive features of service quality in service encounters (Tam

and Wong, 2001; Chow-Chua and Komaran, 2002; Dedeke, 2003; Svensson,

2004, 2006).

Public sector services are responsible and accountable to citizens and

communities as well as to its customers. Several researchers have dealt with

service quality in public services (Wisniewski and Donnelly, 1996; Rowley,

1998; Wisniewski, 2001; Brysland and Curry, 2001). Brysland and Curry

(2001) stated that the literature clearly supported the use of SERVQUAL in the

public sector. According to Gowan et al. (2001), service provision is more

complex in the public sector because it is not simply a matter of meeting

expressed needs, but of finding out unexpressed needs, setting priorities,

allocating resources and publicly justifying and accounting for what has been

done. In addition, Caron and Giauque (2006) pointed out that public sector

employees are currently confronted with new professional challenges arising

from the introduction of new principles and tools inspired by the shift to new

public management. Anderson (1995) also measured the quality of service

provided by a public university health clinic. Using 15 statements representing

the five-dimensions of SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1988), she assessed the

quality of service provided by the clinic at the University of Houston Health

Center. Patients were found to be generally dissatisfied with the five

dimensions of SERVQUAL. The highest dissatisfaction was felt with assurance.

On the other hand, tangibles and empathy exhibited the lowest level of

dissatisfaction. Using the SERVQUAL approach, Wisniewski (2001) carried out

a study to assess customer satisfaction within the public sector across a range

of Scottish Councils services. In the library

Conceptual Framework

On these bases of these study, the conceptual paradigm of this study is

illustrated in Figure 1

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

 Distribute relief

assistance
Assessment of the
 Medical
BARMM Government
Assistance from

BARMM
Figure 1 – Research Paradigm

As an independent variable, Assessment of the service of the BARMM

Government is to assist the citizens of Cotabato city during this pandemic.

Significance of the Study

This study is significant to the people of Cotabato City for them to know

how did the BARMM Government helps them and what does the BARMM

Government do during the pandemic. Further. This study was also important

to the government officials as well as the City itself to determine the good effect

of the BARMM Government services. Finally, the outcome of this study assist

the researcher who likes to undertake similar or related to this study.

Scope and Limitation

This study was limited to the benefits of BARMM government services

during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Cotabato City.

 This study was also limited to broaden the idea of every researcher to

know how did the BARMM Government works during the pandemic and how

their government strategy look like in helping.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined operationally and conceptually to properly

guide the readers of this study:

ASSESSMENT - the evaluation or estimation of the nature, quality, or ability of

someone or something.

RELIEF ASSISTANCE - Relief refers to the provision of essential, appropriate

and timely humanitarian assistance to those affected by a disaster, based on

an initial rapid assessment of needs and designed to contribute effectively and

speedily to their early recovery.

MEDICAL ASSISTANCE - "Medical assistance" includes any care or services

for any individual who is a patient in a medical institution or any care or

services for any individual who has attained 65 years of age or is under 22

years of age, and who is a patient in a private or public institution for mental

diseases.
 CHAPTER II

Review of Related Literature

Foreign

This study is anchored on theories propounded by the professors of

government like Antal Szerletics, Gerry Stoker, and B. Guy Peters. Successful

sustainability and responsibility programs not only do great things for the

society, they also are governed and engaged in a way that connects with the

people and their leaders horizontally and vertically. In order to achieve this,

establishing a good governance structure to guide and manage sustainability

and responsibility is essential. By doing so, the leaders responsible for driving

sustainable practices allow to set direction, establish goals and create policies

to execute the strategy. According to Antal Szerletics (2000), the notion of good

governance can be conceived as a basket of many practices, including, for

example, professional civil service, anti-corruption policies, transparency and

accountability, democratic decision-making, the principle of the rule of law,

protection of human rights and independent judiciary. The constitutive

elements of good governance vary according to the particular international

organization and the particular document we examine.

Local

Ratification of the Organic Law for the BARMM, Republic Act No. 11054, (BOL)

in January 2019 was a major landmark in the evolution of governance in the

region. It is hoped that the law will be the foundation for a more peaceful,

prosperous and inclusive state of development in the region. This report aims

to provide a baseline for assessing the public financial management situation

facing the Bangsamoro regional government (BG). It seeks to identify the

strengths and provide some pointers to areas where the quality and

effectiveness of resource management can be strengthened or need attention so

that the goals and objectives of the national and subnational government can

be realized. More specific observations and recommendations are included in

the body of the report. The analysis provides and overview of the framework

and foundation of the government, including a brief outline of the relevant

history and context. It then, analyses the various activities involved in public

financial management from planning through budget preparation, budget

execution, audit and control, reporting and accountability, and important

crosscutting issues. (The World Bank).

In BARMM, social protection programmes lack data, coverage, capacity,

cultural context and coherence with Social Protection, Disaster Risk Reduction

and Humanitarian policy at the national and regional levels. The current

poverty registry also does not include risk and hazard vulnerability

assessments for inclusive targeting and effective monitoring. To address this,

the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAQ) and the
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will work with Bangsamoro

Government and its ministries, including the Bangsamoro Development and

Planning Authority (BDPA), Ministry of Social Services and Development

(MSSD), Ministry of Interior and Local Government (MILG), Ministry of

Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR), and Ministry of

Indigenous People’s Affairs (MIPA). The programme will focus on three key

interventions, including main streaming risk informed shock responsive social

protection in the Bangsamoro Development Plan (BRDP); building capacity of

BARMM institutions to analyse and monitor both natural and human induced

risks and improve synergy and; improving the poverty registry system to

include risk and hazard vulnerability assessments, predictive analytics,

inclusive targeting and effective monitoring. “With the partnership that we have

right now, I am immensely excited for the eventual outcomes and hopefully, its

lasting impact to Bangsamoro communities who desire nothing more but a

more peaceful life with opportunities that lie ahead for them,” says Ahod B.

Ebrahim, Chief Minister of the BARMM Government. “All of our initial plans, of

course, are now retracted towards the impact of the global coronavirus

pandemic. We are committed that when this crisis comes to an end, the

Bangsamoro stands fine: economically, physically and to an extent, mentally,”

he adds. (Government of the Philippines/UN Country Team in the Philippines).

The imposition of community quarantines in almost the entire Philippines has

caused disruption in the access of families to food and other essential needs,
and breaks in the food systems, including supply chain, markets and logistics,

which affect availability of food stocks and ultimately food security. While the

government, through the COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force for the

Management of the Emerging Infectious Disease has released various national

issuances and circulars that sought to provide for social amelioration and

facilitate unhampered movement of goods and commodities, the varied

approaches to implementation of the local government units (LGU) has led to

challenges in ensuring that adequate nutritious food is made available and is

accessible to everyone at all times. The delay in the actual transfer of SAP

assistance and partial coverage poses a big challenge to ensuring food security.

Further market for nutritious items, which are often perishable, may collapse if

the flow of goods will not stabilize. The restriction on mobility has likewise led

to reduced productivity and disrupted flow of goods (food products / essential

goods) for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the food manufacturing

sector. The lack of the access by families to food and the disruption in the food

supply chain has also affected household food consumption and diet diversity.

This is a concern in BARMM, where the current transition place has led to

limited manpower capacities in the government. In addition, delays in

normalization socioeconomic assistance intended foe ex-combatants and

conflict-affected in BARMM due to the national Covid-19 response will also

increase the level of vulnerability in BARMM requiring increased support.

Increased conflict risks in GPH-NPA-affected areas will also exacerbate delays

in SAP assistance and heighten food insecurity risks in affected communities

(primarily IP communities who already marginalized). (Sector Overview).

As according to the Sector’s Overview in terms of health, while everyone is at

risk to be infected by COVID-19, older people and persons with pre-existing

conditions, as well as frontline health workers, are the most vulnerable. Wide-

spread community transmission is most likely to occur among mobile

communities, people living in poor, densely populated urban setting,

displacement sites and any community with inadequate access to proper

hygiene supplies and with constrained hygiene and sanitation practices and

nutrition services. If this was to occur, it would overwhelm the capacity of

healthcare facilities, particularly in densely populated areas.

To respond to COVID-19, the health sector needs to have in place effective

surveillance systems to rapidly detect and respond to reports of suspected

cases, diagnostic capabilities, and adequate facilities to care for the sick. The

gold standard for COVID-19 diagnostic is real-time polymerase chain

reaction(RT-PCR). About 4,000 tests are currently done nationwide on a daily

basis, and laboratories across the country are being capacitated to increase

this number. Health facilities catering to cases of COVID-19 are in need of

critical care equipment to protect health workers. Provision of essential health

services is currently constrained due to overwhelmed capacities of the health

system.
In Mindanao, including BARMM: Protecting the Most vulnerable, a widespread

emergence of COVID-19 in Mindanao would be devastating. Mindanao

represents over 36 percent of the total poor while accounting for just 24

percent of the country’s total population. The existing dire economic situation,

continued activity of ideologically diverse non-state armed groups (e.g,|S-

affiliated groups, CPP-NPA-NDPF), clan and/or land-related horizontal

conflicts, continued activity of extremist groups, displacement due to recent

conflicts, like Marawi, or the 2019 earthquakes in North Cotabato and Davao

del Sur, have forced many people to flee their homes and live in temporary

settlements lacking regular provision of basic services, including access to

health services and WASH facilitates. While the Bangsamoro peace process and

the desire for a ceasefire by both the Government and the CPP-NPA-NDPF can

facilitate access to at risk communities, Mindanao, especially BARMM, has an

extremely weak health system which adds to its vulnerabilities. (Philippine

COVID-19 Response Plan)

According to Bureau of Public Information, Cotabato City- To increase

meaningful participation of the youth in promoting peace and development, the

Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC) held the Bangsamoro Young Ulama

Conference (YUC) on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 12 to 13, in Cotabato City. The

Ulama or Muslim scholars from Maguindanao, North Cotabato, and Cotabato

City attented the program at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex.

Marjanie Macasalong, chairperson of BYC, said the conference is anchored at

Bangsamorp Youth Transition Priority Agenda (BYTPA) 2020-2022’s three

priority areas of peacebuilding and security , governance and active citizenship.

Macasalong, who is also a member of Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA)

Parliament, and the conference will enjoin the participants to become partners

in the quest for moral governance of the Bangsamoro Government.

RELIEF ASSISTANCE - The unprecedented deployment in 2005 of military

forces and assets in support of humanitarian response to natural disasters,

following an increasing trend over the past years, confirmed the need to update

the 1994 “Oslo Guidelines”. The Consultative Group on the Use of Military and

Civil Defence Assets (MCDA), at its annual meeting in December 2005, tasked

OCHA’s CivilMilitary Coordination Section (CMCS) with this facelift, to reflect

current terminology and organizational changes, following a layout similar to

the 2003 “Guidelines on the Use of Military and Civil Defence Assets to Support

United Nations Humanitarian Activities in Complex Emergencies” (“MCDA

Guidelines”).

MEDICAL ASSISTANCE - The recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

pandemic is associated with increasing morbidity and mortality and has

impacted the lives of the global populations. Human behavior and knowledge

assessment during the crisis are critical in the overall efforts to contain the

outbreak. To assess knowledge, attitude, perceptions, and precautionary

measures toward COVID-19 among a sample of medical students in Jordan.

This is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted between the 16th and

19th of March 2020. Participants were students enrolled in different levels of

study at the six medical schools in Jordan. An online questionnaire which was

posted on online platforms was used. The questionnaire consisted of four main

sections: socio-demographics, sources of information, knowledge attitudes, and

precautionary measures regarding COVID-19. Medical students used mostly

social media (83.4%) and online search engines (84.8%) as their preferred

source of information on COVID-19 and relied less on medical search engines

(64.1%). Most students believed that hand shaking (93.7%), kissing (94.7%),

exposure to contaminated surfaces (97.4%), and droplet inhalation (91.0%) are

the primary mode of transmission but were indecisive regarding airborne

transmission with only 41.8% in support. Participants also reported that

elderly with chronic illnesses are the most susceptible group for the

coronavirus infection (95.0%). As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic more

than 80.0% of study participants adopted social isolation strategies, regular

hand washing, and enhanced personal hygiene measures as their first line of

defense against the virus. In conclusion, Jordanian medical students showed

expected level of knowledge about the COVID-19 virus and implemented proper

strategies to prevent its spread.

 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Presented in this chapter is the methodology of the study which consists

of the research design, locale of the study, respondents, instrumentation, data

gathering procedure and the statistical treatment of the data.

Research Design

This study used the descriptive type of research which mean is aims to

accurately and systematically describe the situation to determine the benefits

of BARMM government services in terms of Distributing relief assistance,

Medical assistance, and Emergency Assistance Program in Cotabato City, in

conducting this study, survey questionnaire is the main instrument in

gathering data of the study.

The researchers prepared a sample survey questionnaire derived from

the theoretical framework of the study and presented it to the research adviser

for comments and suggestions that would make the questionnaire acceptable

to the respondents. Prior finalization of the questionnaire, a letter seeking

approval of the City Mayor of the said city and have the residence serve as a

respondents of the study.

Locale of the Study

The study was conducted in Cotabato City.

Respondents of the Study

The respondents of the study will be 30 residences of Cotabato City who

obtained assistance from the services of BARMM government in terms of

Distributing relief assistance, Mdeical assistance, and Emergency Assistance

Program.

Sampling Technique

The respondents of the study were chosen through simple random

sampling. It follows that in such a procedure every member of a population is

equally likely to be selected.

Research Instrument

A self-made survey questionnaire will be used in this study to elicit the

information from the respondents. The instrument will be composed the two

parts. Part 1 re3sidence of the Cotabato City. Further, Part 2 will elicit the
services of BARMM government during the COVID-19 pandemic in Cotabato

City.

Data Gathering Procedure

A 30 pieces of survey questionnaire will be distributed to the respondents

that willing to answer the questionnaire about the benefits of BARMM

government services during the time of COVID-19 pandemic in Cotabato City.

The respondents will be given a time to answer the questionnaire and it will be

retrieved personally by the researcher. A random interview will be done to

validate the perceptions of the respondents and also observation was

conducted.

Statistical Tool for Analysis

Frequency percentage and Mean will be used in describing the benefits of

the BARMM government in terms of assisting. SPSS (Statistical Package for the

Social Sciences), also known as IBM SPSS Statistics, is a software package

used for the analysis of statistical data.

 Survey Questionnaire

Direction: Please answer the following accurately. Kindly check your choices

from the blank that best describe you.

Part I: Socio-demographic Profile

1.) Name (optional): _____________________________________________________

2.) Age: _____

3.) Gender: M: _______ F: _______

4.) Civil Status

______ Single _______Married ________Separated

5.) Religion

______Islam _______Catholic _________________Others:(specify)

6.) Educational Attainment

______Elementary level ______Elementary graduate

______High school level ______High school graduate

______College level ______College graduate

______Others:(specify)
 Part II: Below are statements and that would subscribe the benefits of

BARMM government services during the time of COVID-19 in Cotabato City.

Please rate it using this scale by putting a check mark.

4- Very Effective 3- Effective 2- Less Effective 1- Ineffective

A.) Distribute relief assistance

1.) BARMM Government distributed relief goods during the 4 3 2 1

time of COVID-19.
2.) BARMM Government assist well while distributing relief 4 3 2 1

goods to the people.

3.) The reliefs that given by the BARMM government is 4 3 2 1

enough for the people of Cotabato City.

4.) The BARMM Government gives relief goods in all places in 4 3 2 1

City.
5.) The relief goods is well distributed to the people of 4 3 2 1

Cotabato City.

B.) Medical assistance

1.) BARMM Government is good in medical assistance. 4 3 2 1

2.) Medical assistance program gives a good benefits to the 4 3 2 1

people.
3.) Medical assistance is useful to combat against COVID-19 4 3 2 1

disease.
4.) Medical supplies can help to secure the health of the 4 3 2 1

people.
5.) Medical supplies such as drugs and face mask are very 4 3 2 1
important during the time of COVID-19 pandemic.

C.)Emergency Assistance Program

1.) Emergency assistance program is very useful for the 4 3 2 1

people.
2.) Emergency assistance program insures the safeness of 4 3 2 1

the people.
3.) The emergency assistance program is open for all people 4 3 2 1

who encountered circumstances.

4.) Emergency assistance program response quickly to the 4 3 2 1

people who needs help during the time of pandemic.

5.) BARMM Government gives guidelines and protocols on 4 3 2 1

how to combat against COVID-19 disease.