The Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has not only created an unpre-cedented health crisis but triggered serious economic downturns globally. The Philippines has not been spared and the effects are felt in all its regions, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

BARMM is still a region in transition towards establishing a fully autonomous political entity and completing its normalization processes. Its momentum toward this, including its socioeconomic development has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. While COVID-19 cases in the region have been kept low, the response measures (mainly lockdowns, quarantines, and social distancing) taken in the country and in the region to combat the pandemic have triggered major socioeconomic impacts on its population and its economy even in the short-term. Currently, the BARMM government has adapted and pivoted the health crisis by addressing pressing concerns it brought, which made the attainment of the 12-point priority agenda more challenging. The BARMM Government’s response during the COVID-19 crisis focused on improving social welfare and development, essential health services, economic recovery, infrastructure support and governance, as articulated in the Bangsamoro Region’s Response and Recovery Plan for COVID-19 2020-2022. 

This report presents the consolidated results of three research studies aimed to assess the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 in BARMM including economic trends in the short and medium-term. The assessment also examined the policy and program responses of the BARMM Government to the COVID-19 crisis and provided policy recommendations to support the government’s transition and push towards achieving an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable development. The assessment was commissioned by UNDP in the Philippines in collaboration with the BARMM Government, with funding support from the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines.

The intersecting assessment started with a household survey supplemented with key informant and in-depth interviews which tried to assess the condition of BARMM residents during the COVID-19 crisis. The Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) methodology was then used to determine the immediate, short-term impacts of the crisis to the economy. Lastly, the Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models were applied to project the medium-term economic scenarios