2007 STRATEGIC REVIEW AND EVALUATION OF THE

PHILIPPINE STATISTICAL SYSTEM (PSS):

A REPORT OF THESPECIAL COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE PSS

LIST OF ACRONYMS

BAECON Bureau of Agricultural Economics

BAS Bureau of Agricultural Statistics

BCS Bureau of the Census and Statistics

BIR Bureau of Internal Revenue

BITS BLES Integrated Surveys

BLES Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics

BOC Bureau of Customs

BRW Bureau of Rural Workers

BSP Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

BTR Bureau of Treasury

CA Commonwealth Act

CBP Central Bank of the Philippines

CAF Census of Agriculture and Fisheries

CHED Commission on Higher Education

COCOPEA Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations

CPBI Census of Philippine Business and Industry

CPH Census of Population and Housing,

CSC Civil Service Commission

DA Department of Agriculture

DAR Department of Agrarian Reform

DENR Department of Environment and Natural Resources

DEPED Department of Education

DFA Department of Foreign Affairs

DOE Department of Energy

DOF Department of Finance

DOH Department of Health

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DOJ Department of Justice

DOLE Department of Labor and Employment

DOST Department of Science and Technology

DOT Department of Tourism

DOTC Department of Transportation and Communications

DPWH Department of Public Works and Highways

DTI Department of Trade and Industry

EO Executive Order

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

FGD Focus Group Discussion

FNRI Food and Nutrition Research Institute

FMB Forest Management Bureau

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GIS Geographic Information System

GPS Global Positioning System

GSAP Government Statistics Accessibility Program

GSSID General Standards on Statistical Information Dissemination

HEI Higher Educational Institution

IAC Inter-Agency Committee

IMF International Monetary Fund

IO Input-Output

IRA Internal Revenue Allotment

LGU Local government unit

LMB Land Management Bureau

LMP League of Municipalities of the Philippines

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MAF Ministry of Agriculture and Food

MGB Mines and Geosciences Bureau

MOOE Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses

MSA Major Statistical Agency

MTPDP Medium Term Philippine Development Plan

NAPC National Anti–Poverty Commission

NIA National Income Accounts

NCSO National Census and Statistics Office

NDHS National Demographic and Health Survey

NEC National Economic Council

NEDA National Economic and Development Authority

NFA National Food Authority

NSCB National Statistical Coordination Board

NSIC National Statistical Information Center

NSO National Statistics Office

OWS Occupational Wages Surveys

OSCAS Office of Statistical Coordination and Standards

OP Office of the President

PASUC Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges

PDF Portable Document File

PDS Philippine Designated Statistics

PIDS Philippine Institute for Development Studies

PMS Performance Measurement Scheme

POEA Philippine Overseas Employment Administration

PS Personal Services

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PSA Philippine Statistical Association

PSDP Philippine Statistical Development Program

PSS Philippine Statistical System

PUF Public Use File

PUP Polytechnic University of the Philippines

RDC Regional Development Council

RSCC Regional Statistical Coordination Committee

RSCU Regional Statistical Coordination Unit

SCO Statistical Coordination Officer

SCS Scientific Career System

SDDS Special Data Dissemination Standard

SDS System of Designated Statistics

SIAP Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific

SNA System of National Accounts

SPC Statistics Policy Council

SRTC Statistical Research and Training Center

SSO Sub-national Statistics Office

SSRCS Statistical Survey Review and Clearance System

TC Technical Committee

TESDA Technical Education and Skills Development Authority

TF Task Force

TWG Technical Working Group

UN United Nations

ULAP Union of Local Authorities in the Philippines

UP University of the Philippines

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A strategic review and assessment of the Philippine Statistical System (PSS) was conducted by a panel of experts comprising Dr. Vicente B. Valdepeñas, Jr. (Chairperson), Dr. Lisa Grace S. Bersales, Dr. Mercedes B. Concepcion, Dr. Isidoro P. David, and Dr. Cielito F. Habito. The Special Committee to Review the PSS was formed on 14 February 2007 in accordance with Executive Order No. 366 of 4 October 2004, through the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) Resolution No. 4 Series of 2007. The Committee was tasked to evaluate:

the current setup of the PSS in planning, coordinating, and managing statistical activities;

the functions and mandates of the major statistical agencies (MSAs) vis-à-vis their outputs, products, and services;

the adequacy of legal frameworks governing the operations of the system; the integrity and completeness of the national statistical programs; the mechanisms that facilitate access to data and other materials generated by the

system; the methods of archiving of the generated data; and best practices of selected statistical systems in Europe, North America and

Australia that may be adopted in the Philippines.

The Committee, assisted by an Inter-Agency Secretariat and a support staff from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), undertook several approaches for collecting information for its review, including:

(a) written and face-to-face interviews of current heads, former heads and key officials of the MSAs;

(b) field visits to selected regional offices of MSAs and selected local government units (LGUs);

(c) focus group discussions (FGDs) with data producers and PSS stakeholders within Metro Manila and across selected regions;

(d) special sessions on the National Income Accounts as well as on Agricultural Statistics and Statistics on Manufacturing; and

(e) committee discussions on materials regarding: o organizational, human resource and technical information on the PSS, o the PSS process of estimating national and sectoral statistics, ando best practices in official statistics among several member countries of the

United Nations (UN).

The PSS has a highly decentralized structure; it consists of all statistical organizations at all administrative levels in government, the personnel therein and the national statistical program. These organizations are engaged in a myriad of statistical activities, including data production, coordination, statistical research and training, either as their primary function or as part of their administrative or regulatory functions. Six MSAs currently comprise the PSS: the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), the National Statistics Office (NSO), the Statistical Research and Training Center (SRTC), the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES), and the Department of Economic Statistics of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The NSCB, NSO and SRTC

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are attached agencies of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) while the BAS and BLES are staff bureaus of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Labor and Employment, respectively. At the national and regional levels, statistical activities are linked through coordination mechanisms in order to foster efficiency and effectiveness. Below the regional levels, i.e., provincial, city, municipality and barangay levels, statistical activities are also conducted according to the priorities of local chief executives but often without direct inter-institutional linkages, especially to national agencies.

The PSS, like all national statistical systems across the world, faces a number of challenges in its efforts to comply with its mandate of meeting statistical information requirements for national policy and planning, given the growing complexities of economic transactions and the changes affecting existing product mixes and prices brought about by globalization and innovations in communications and technology. Much of the recent growth of the country’s economy has been in the service sector which has outputs that are inherently difficult to measure. Although the PSS meets a number of international specifications and is generally regarded very positively by the international community, including statistical systems of neighboring countries, experts and data users have identified many areas for improvements, especially in the areas of macro-economic and sub-national statistics. Weaknesses in macro-economic statistics are traced, among others, to the use of constant 1985 prices; the lack of mechanisms for measuring the unorganized sector; the lack of information on intermediate consumption in establishment surveys; limitations in accounting for births and deaths of firms; the use of outdated agricultural census frames; the inability to capture electronic commerce transactions of new firms and products in a timely fashion; and the growth in industries for which output was never well defined or where an acceleration of changes in the products and structure of these industries has complicated the measurement of quality changes. Response rates for statistical activities such as surveys and censuses have been on the decline, especially in urban areas. Laws regarding fines for non-compliance in censuses and surveys are also outdated.

A number of structural limitations in the current setup of the PSS, coupled with constraints on financial, physical, human and other resources, have hindered the PSS from responding quickly to users’ requirements and criticisms from inside and outside the PSS, especially regarding the need for statistics for local development planning requirements. A number of LGUs have resorted to producing their own statistics but with no agency setting or monitoring standards, leading to incomparable LGU statistics. Many, if not all, of the designated statistics generated by the PSS are provided inadequate budgetary resources. A master sampling design has been developed for household surveys, but improvement of sampling designs for agricultural as well as industry and trade sample surveys have lagged behind. Sampling frames for a number of data collection activities are not updated. MSAs, and all statistical units across government, are under extreme pressure to generate more and more data but with less and less budgets for statistical operations. While a number of efforts have been made to improve statistics production and dissemination, the development and utilization of sectoral statistics, however, is very uneven. Many data gaps and research issues have been identified over the years but have often remained unresolved. Training programs and researches in statistics have been conducted by the MSAs, but these activities have been incoherent as the funds for training and research have been limited. Mechanisms have been developed for the archiving of the major products of the PSS, but the current archiving processes that have been decentralized are in dire need of significant improvement.

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On the basis of these findings, the Committee recommends that the PSS be further reorganized, with aid of legislation, to improve its efficiency and effectiveness in meeting demands for statistics by way of consolidating primary data collection activities under a single agency. The rationale for the consolidation of primary data collection includes improved responsiveness, coordination, reliability, relevance and timeliness of information; and efficiency without increasing the current number of human resources available among MSAs and with less maintenance cost for field offices. The limited government resources made available for statistical activities can thus be more cost-effectively utilized.

Coordination is expected to improve by way of integrating systems and personnel involved in primary data collection and the compilation of national accounts, with identified data gaps and weakness in basic data addressed in a more timely fashion. Budgets for activities related to designated statistics shall be automatically appropriated. The research and training arm of the PSS shall also be strengthened to address increasing requirements for statistical training and research as well as to meet emerging needs for a national repository and archive for statistics produced by national and local governments. The operations of both the consolidated data collection agency and the PSS research and training arm will be governed by a policy council composed of statistics experts. The policy council shall convene a high-level consultative assembly of the major statistics users every six months to serve as a forum for soliciting feedback from these data users regarding the relevance of statistics generated by the consolidated data collection agency, the coordination mechanisms in place and the emerging sectoral data requirements for effective policy and planning. Government shall be expected to provide the necessary support for meeting statistical capacity-building requirements, both in the realm of formal and informal education, for the restructured PSS.

To address the emerging needs of LGUs on statistics for local development planning, the infrastructure of the statistical system at the sub-national level will be developed and strengthened. In the short term, statistics will be generated from censuses and sample surveys conducted by the consolidated data collection agency. The consolidated data collection agency will be assisting other statistics producers of the national government and statistical units of LGUs in the systematic generation and analysis of statistics for evidence-based policy and planning. In the long run, a statistics cadre will be developed across the government bureaucracy, with national government departments as well as provincial, city, and municipal governments setting up statistical units that collect and analyze statistics important for policy and planning. All the recommendations of the Committee are meant to ensure a world-class statistical system marked by integrity, competence, efficiency and responsiveness to the quest for broad-based development of the Filipino nation

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STRATEGIC REVIEW AND EVALUATION OFTHE PHILIPPINE STATISTICAL SYSTEM (PSS)

Table of Contents

List of Acronyms iiExecutive Summary vi

1.0 Introduction 1.1 The 1986 Review 21.2 The 2007 Review 41.3 Structure of the Report 8

2.0 Status of the Philippine Statistical System2.1 PSS Structure and Linkages 92.2 PSS Resources 232.3 Statistical Products and Services 312.4 Data Management, Dissemination and Archiving 34

3.0 Issues on the Philippine Statistical System3.1 Issues on PSS Structure, Linkages and Legal Framework 39 3.2 Issues on PSS Resources 53 3.3 Issues on Statistical Products and Services 713.4 Issues on Data Management, Archiving and Dissemination 78

4.0 Sub-National Statistics 4.1 Status of Sub-national Statistics 814.2 Issues on Sub-national Statistics 85

5.0 Summary of Findings and Recommendations 5.1 PSS Structure, Linkages and Legal Framework 895.2 PSS Resources 925.3 Statistical Products and Services 955.4 Data Management, Archiving and Dissemination 1005.5 Sub-national Statistics 1025.6 Concluding Remarks 103

Annex1 Draft Philippine Statistics Act 104

2 Chronology of Events 1223 Technical Committees and Corresponding 123

Technical Working Groups (TWGs) 4 List of Surveys that have undergone the SSCRS 1255 List of Designated Statistical Activities and Statistics 1326 List of Designated Activities and Statistics 141

by Schedule of Release, 2002-2006 7 Statistical systems in other countries 1458 Attendees of NSCB meetings 156

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The Philippine Statistical System (PSS), the government-wide system of providing statistical information and services, consists of statistical organizations at all administrative levels, the personnel therein and the national statistical program. Six major statistical agencies (MSAs) of the PSS currently lead the conduct of statistical activities in the country, namely, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), the National Statistics Office (NSO), the Statistical Research and Training Center (SRTC), the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES), and the Department of Economic Statistics of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The NSCB is a statistical policymaking and coordination body tasked with the generation of the national income accounts and statistical frameworks and indicator systems, and the release of official poverty statistics. The NSO produces general purpose statistics and conducts censuses and major surveys, and manages the civil registration system. The BAS is a producer of agriculture and fishery statistics. The BLES undertakes specific purpose statistics on labor and employment. The Department of Economic Statistics of the BSP provides monetary and banking statistics. The SRTC is a research and non-formal training institution on statistics. Other data producers of statistics in government include divisions or units within the planning service of departments, bureaus and local government units (LGUs). The PSS mission is to provide timely, accurate and useful statistical products and services for the government and the public, especially for planning and decision-making purposes.

The current decentralized PSS structure came about over a span of several decades based on specific government policies. During the Commonwealth period, the Bureau of the Census and Statistics (BCS) was established under Commonwealth Act (CA) No. 591. The BCS was tasked not only to conduct censuses and major surveys but also to take over the management of the civil registration system from the Division of Archives of the National Library. National income accounting was initiated in 1950 by the Economic Research Division of the Central Bank of the Philippines (CBP), mainly in relation to the evaluation of fiscal and public finance policy.

In 1957, responsibility for the national income estimates was transferred from the CBP to the Office of Statistical Coordination and Standards (OSCAS) under the National Economic Council (NEC). In 1956, various types of sample surveys such as those dealing with agriculture, natural resources, banks and finance, labor, vital statistics, and education were distributed to various departments, leaving the BCS with the responsibility to conduct the censuses. The OSCAS was tasked to oversee the coordination of all statistical activities of the BCS, the Bureau of Agricultural Economics (BAECON), the Department of Economic Research of the CBP, the Labor

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Statistics Service of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the Disease Intelligence Center of the Department of Health (DOH). The emphasis on evidence-based development planning led to the establishment of statistics divisions and units across government to address various statistical information needs. Several departments such as agriculture and labor had statistics divisions that dated back to the American period in the Philippines.

Following the proclamation of martial law in 1972, efforts were made to develop a more centralized statistical system that was under the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), which replaced the NEC. Such efforts reflected the state-centered economic development approach. One official served on a concurrent basis as the NEDA Deputy Director-General for the Statistical Coordination Office or SCO (which replaced the OSCAS) and as Executive Director of the National Census and Statistics Office (NCSO), the reconstituted BCS. Said official also acted as chairperson of the Statistical Advisory Board.

1.1. 1986 Review

In 1986, a multidisciplinary and multisectoral Special Committee was created to review the PSS. Its succeeding committee report highlighted the following key issues:

a. The need to ensure the independence and integrity of data production,

b. Difficulties in fully coordinating and integrating statistical activities in the country, and

c. Çonstraints confronting the PSS regarding its financial, physical, human and related resources.

To deal with these issues, the Special Committee recommended the following:

a. Establishment of the NSCB as the highest policy formulation body in charge of statistics policy and statistics coordination. The NSCB would be attached to the NEDA for policy and program coordination. The Board would be composed of the NEDA Director-General as Chair, a deputy minister of the Ministry of Budget and Management as Vice-Chair, and members consisting of deputy ministers from the different ministries and a representative of the private sector. The NSCB would not be involved in primary data collection but would concentrate on statistical coordination (especially useful for purposes of generating the national income accounts). The NSCB Secretariat was to be headed by a secretary-general (with the rank of a deputy minister);

b. Renaming of the NCSO as the NSO. The NSO was to be responsible for conducting various censuses and carrying out major surveys for general statistics. The NSO would also be autonomous from the NEDA and headed by an administrator (with a rank of a deputy minister);

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c. Establishment of the SRTC. The Center will serve as the training arm of those overseeing statistical projects in various government agencies, and conduct research on the development of statistics;

d. Setting up of the BAS under the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (MAF). The BAS would succeed the Bureau of Agricultural Economics (BAECON) as well as absorb the statistical functions of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and other agencies of the MAF;

e. Adoption of a career system that would attract statistical personnel to join government.

f. Provision of funds to construct physical facilities for the MSAs.

The recommendations involving the NSCB, NSO and SRTC were contained in Executive Order (EO) No. 121, signed on 30 January 1987. This EO gave the PSS its current decentralized setup, and authorized selected agencies to manage statistical products and services and a national body to undertake overall statistical coordination. It also provided autonomy to statistics-related institutions from the development planning organs under which they were placed.

The DA and DOLE were also reorganized on 30 January 1987, pursuant to EO 116 and EO 126, respectively, which established the BAS and BLES. These EOs essentially showed a shift in economic policies toward private sector promotion, deregulation and decentralization after the Marcos years. The NSO, NSCB and SRTC, which were all under the Office of the President, were eventually transferred to the administrative supervision of the NEDA by virtue of EO 149 signed on 28 December 1993. The BSP, on the other hand, set up the Department of Economic Statistics on 20 March 2005 to assume the statistical functions of the Department of Economic Research.

The proposed adoption of a career system for statistics personnel has not been fully realized owing to constraints posed by the Salary Standardization Law (SSL). This notwithstanding, statisticians in government can now have the chance to be recognized under the Scientific Career System (SCS) developed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) which provides additional monetary incentives aside from national and international distinction to those conferred with titles of “scientists” under the system.

MSAs are beset by a lack of funds for the construction of physical facilities and for a sustained conduct of statistical research and training activities. Moreover, the PSS faces a number of emerging challenges regarding the growing and evolving demands of data users, especially the need for statistics for local development planning.

The Committee suggested that Regional Statistical Coordination Committees (RSCCs) be established across all regions. While this has been done throughout the country, the NSCB has no regional units in Regions 2, 3, 7 and ARMM due to budgetary constraints.

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National statistical systems across the world, including the PSS, have undoubtedly faced growing huge data demands and consequently adjusted their statistical programs to make them meaningful for their data users. Statistical development, however, may sometimes be a mere result of special data requests of external funding agencies, which have their own specific agenda advancing their respective data collection priorities. These may not always be consistent, though, with national needs. Policymakers and budget managers of both national and local governments will, however, have to champion the support needed by a statistical system to enable it to be an effective auditor of the economic performance of a country.

1.2. 2007 Review

The 1986 review was undertaken as a result of a government-wide reorganization which entailed the need for the entire bureaucracy to be more efficient and effective in its delivery of public services. Two decades after the 1986 review of the PSS, a new Special Committee to review the PSS was formed on 14 February 2007 in accordance with EO No. 366 of 4 October 2004 to rationalize the bureaucracy under the NSCB Resolution No. 4 Series of 2007 (See Annex 2 for a detailed chronology of events that led to the creation of said Special Committee). The 2007 Special Committee is chaired by Dr. Vicente B. Valdepeñas, Jr., member of the Monetary Board of the BSP, with the following members:

a. Dr. Isidoro P. David, Philippine Statistical Association

b. Dr. Cielito F. Habito, Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development

c. Dr. Mercedes B. Concepcion, National Academy of Science and Technology

d. Dr. Lisa Grace S. Bersales, UP School of Statistics

The present Committee was formed to review the following:

a. Current setup of the PSS in planning, coordinating and managing statistical activities,

b. Functions and mandates of the MSAs vis-à-vis their outputs, products and services.

c. Adequacy of legal frameworks governing the operations of the system.

d. Integrity and completeness of the national statistical programs.

e. Mechanisms that facilitate access to data and other materials generated by the system.

f. Methods of archiving of the generated data, and

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g. International best practices on statistical systems that may be adopted in the country

To perform its mandated task, the Committee is supported by the staff of the PIDS and an inter-agency secretariat composed of:

a. Dr. Celia M. Reyes, Senior Research Fellow, PIDS (Head of Secretariat)

b. Dr. Jose Ramon G. Albert, Senior Research Fellow, PIDS

c. Deputy Administrator Paula Monina G. Collado, NSO

d. Director Lina V. Castro, NSCB

e. Assistant Director Maura S. Lizarondo, BAS

f. Editha B. Rivera, Chief Labor and Employment Officer, BLES

g. Assistant Chief Lilia V. Elloso, Research Division, SRTC

The PIDS, as the country’s policy think tank, is viewed by the PSS as a neutral, objective party that utilizes its statistical products for its policy research.

The Committee, with the support of the Inter-Agency Secretariat and PIDS, used several methodologies for collecting vital information for its review, to wit:

a. Interviews and consultations were used to solicit inputs from key informants and resource persons on the issues and constraints facing the PSS in delivering its statistical products and services from both supply and demand sides. The Committee interviewed a number of key informants comprising current heads, former heads and other officials of MSAs. The key informants were:

Mr. Gervacio G. Selda Executive Director, SRTCMr. Tomas P. Africa Former Administrator, NSO Mr. Generoso G. de Guzman Former Director, BASMs. Ma. Criselda R. Sy Director, BLESMs. Carmelita N. Ericta Administrator, NSODr. Romulo A. Virola Secretary General, NSCBDr. Margarita F. Guerrero Former Director, NSO Industry,

Trade and Statistics DepartmentMr. Romeo S. Recide Director, BAS

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b. Inputs were also provided by other ex-key officials of the PSS:

Mrs. Nelia R. Marquez Former Deputy Administra-tor, NSO

Dr. Elizabeth M. Go Former Director, NSO Household Statistics Depart-ment

Mr. Francisco K. Mallion Former Director of Programs, Policies and Standards, NSCB

c. Field visits to selected regional offices of MSAs and selected local government units (LGUs) gave the Committee insights into the condition of the regions. The visits covered the following:

Region / Office Date of VisitRegion 1 9 November 2007 - BAS 1 - NSO 1Region 7 15-16 November 2007 - BAS 7 - NSO 7Region 11 19 November 2007 - BAS 11 - NSO 11Region 10 27 November 2007 - Iligan City Statistical

Council - NSCB 10

Region 12 9 January 2008 - Saranggani Provincial Statisti-

cal Coordination Committee - NSCB 12 - NSO 12

d. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted to collect insights from the stakeholders of the PSS, both data producers and data users. Two FGDs were held in Metro Manila with representatives from government

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agencies with statistical units (Department of Health, Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Food and Nutrition Research Institute, etc.) and the private sector, including international development organizations. Regional consultations, through FGDs and visits to select field offices of the MSAs, facilitated broader participation in the review process. Among others, these consultations showed that the issues and concerns confronting the stakeholders in the areas outside of Metro Manila differed from those in Metro Manila. These same activities also gave statistical stakeholders a sense of ownership of the review efforts and their subsequent outputs.

Outside of Metro Manila, FGDs with data producers and data users were held in the following localities:

Area Date of FGDLa Union 8-Nov-07Cebu City 16-Nov-07Davao City 20-Nov-07Cagayan de Oro City 27-Nov-07Cotabato City 9-Jan-08

e. Meetings of the special committee with the inter-agency secretariat in attendance were held to highlight and discuss the issues arising from the different activities for the review.

f. Relevant documents were assessed, particularly on the following topics:

o organizational, human resource and technical information on the PSS,

o PSS process of estimating national and sectoral statistics, and

o best practices in official statistics among several UN member countries;

g. A website was developed to facilitate the dissemination of information within the Committee and the secretariat. An e-group was also set up for the same purpose.

Special sessions on the National Income Accounts (NIA) as well as on agricultural and manufacturing statistics were conducted. The Committee considered it important to hold discussions with experts on the issues surrounding these topics. A special session on the NIA was conducted since it encompasses all other statistical series aside from being the most visible product of the PSS. The NIA is widely accepted and is a powerful integrating tool for many statistical products and services of the PSS. Former NEDA Director-General Dr. Felipe M. Medalla and the incumbent NSCB Secretary-General, Dr. Romulo A. Virola, were both invited to give

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presentations before the Committee. (NSCB Assistant Secretary-General, Ms.Estrella V. Domingo, delivered the NSCB presentation in the absence of Dr. Virola). Well-known economists, Dr. Gonzalo M. Jurado and Dr. Gerardo P. Sicat, served as reactors in the session on NIA. Another special session involved inputs from Dr. Leonardo A. Gonzales of SIKAP/STRIVE Foundation and Dr. Rafaelita M. Aldaba of the PIDS who discussed agricultural and manufacturing statistics, respectively.

All the Committee activities were supported through the financial assistance and in-kind contributions of the BSP and the PIDS.

1.3. Structure of the Report

This report is the result of the strategic review and evaluation of the PSS conducted by the 2007 Special Committee. The Committee hopes that this review will help enable the PSS to determine the characteristics of an efficient statistical system: independence, objectivity, integrity, relevance and responsiveness. In undertaking the review, the Committee considered three underlying questions: (a) where the PSS is now, (b) where the PSS has been, and (c) where the PSS should be.

The scope of the Committee Report covers the Terms of Reference of the Committee. The next chapter of the report examines the current status of the PSS while the third chapter discusses major issues and concerns of the PSS. Both chapters revolve around the PSS organizational structures, e.g., human, IT, financial, etc., resources, products and services, facilities and practices for data management, archiving, and dissemination. The growing requirements for sub-national statistics, especially those which the LGUs need in their development planning, are discussed in the fourth chapter. The final chapter summarizes the major findings of the Committee and its recommendations to enable the PSS to meet its stakeholder requirements.

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CHAPTER 2

STATUS OF THE PHILIPPINE STATISTICAL SYSTEM

To systematically assess the organizational performance of the PSS, the 2007 Special Committee to Review the PSS deemed it essential to first look into the current PSS enabling environment, i.e., the structures and linkages among the various agencies comprising the PSS as well as the human, financial and other resources of the PSS, as described in this chapter. The statistical products and services that the PSS offers the public as well as the processes entailed in the management, archiving and dissemination of statistical information generated by the PSS are also listed and described here. The contents of this chapter follow the organization of the succeeding chapters that identify issues about the PSS and list recommendations as to how the PSS can improve on the fundamental values and principles of an effective and competent statistical system, viz., independence, relevance and credibility. The Committee also considered the important goals of reducing the burden and respecting the rights of respondents in primary data collection activities.

2.1 PSS Structure and Linkages

The PSS has a highly decentralized structure. It consists of all units of government engaged in a myriad of statistical activities, either as their primary function or as part of their administrative or regulatory functions. These statistical units represent the various administrative levels of government. They may be within departments, bureaus, offices, agencies, and instrumentalities of national and local governments and all government-owned and -controlled corporations and their subsidiaries. Each of these statistical organizations establishes its system of priority statistical activities, balancing demand for information with available resources. Planning processes within these organizations allow them to acquire, maintain or change existing capabilities in the organization while continuing to be responsive and meaningful to their clients and to the public in general.

Three of the MSAs of the PSS, namely, the NSCB, the NSO and the SRTC, are attached agencies of the NEDA. Two other MSAs, BAS and BLES, are staff bureaus of the DA and the DOLE, respectively. All heads of these MSAs and the Director of the BSP’s Department of Economic Statistics have permanent tenures. Activities of all these agencies and other data producers in the national government are geared to meet statistical information requirements for national policy and planning. A number of LGUs have planning offices that generate data for their local development planning requirements and these offices are also considered part of the PSS.

Throughout different periods of the country’s history, demand for statistics had arisen in a variety of sectors, e.g., agriculture, labor and employment, education, health, finance, local governments, and such demand has led to the establishment of statistical organizations across various administrative levels of the bureaucracy in order to produce, compile, interpret and disseminate official statistics. The establishment of the MSAs of the PSS is not drawn from a single Statistics Act but from a number of laws that include:

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Act No. 3753- Law On Registry of Civil Status, issued on 27 February 1931

Commonwealth Act (CA) No. 591 – An Act to Create a Bureau of the Census and Statistics to Consolidate Statistical Activities of the Govern-ment, issued on 19 August 1940

Batas Pambansa Bilang 72 – An Act Providing for the Taking of An Inte-grated Census Every Ten Years Beginning in the Year Nineteen Hundred and Eighty, and for other Purposes, issued on 11 June 1980

Presidential Decree 418 – Reconstituting the Bureau of the Census and Statistics of the Department of Trade as a New Agency under the Adminis-trative Supervision of the National Economic and Development Authority to be Known as the National Census and Statistics Office, issued on 20 March 1974

EO 121 – Reorganizing and Strengthening the PSS and for Other Pur-poses, issued on 30 January 1987

EO 116 – Renaming Ministry of Agriculture and Food as Ministry of Agri-culture, Reorganizing Its Units, Integrating All Offices and Agencies Whose Functions Relate to Agriculture and Fishery into the Ministry, and for Other Purposes, issued on 30 January 1987, which includes the estab-lishment of the BAS within the Ministry

EO 126 – Reorganizing the Ministry of Labor and Employment and for Other Purposes, issued on 30 January 1987, which includes the establish-ment of the BLES within the Ministry

Republic Act No. 7653 - Establishment of the BSP, which authorized the Monetary Board to reorganize the BSP as necessary and appropriate, signed on 30 June 1993.

In accordance with RA 7653, the Monetary Board established the Department of Economic Statistics of the BSP on 20 March 2005 to assume the statistical functions lodged before at its Department of Economic Research. The NSO, the NSCB and the SRTC, which were all under the Office of the President by virtue of EO 121, were later transferred under the administrative supervision of the NEDA by virtue of EO 149, signed on 28 December 1993. There are numerous legal provisions concerning the statistical operations of the PSS and statistical affairs in the country. The more prominent ones include:

Proclamation No. 647 - Declaring the Month of October of Every Year as the National Statistics Month, signed on 20 September 1990

EO 135 - Providing for the Establishment of A Well-Coordinated Local Level Statistical System, issued on 6 November 1993

EO 352 - Designation of Statistical Activities That Will Generate Critical Data for Decision-Making of the Government and the Private Sector, is-sued on 1 July 1996

EO 406 - Institutionalizing the Philippine Economic-Environmental and Natural Resources Accounting System and Creating Units Within the Or-ganizational Structure of the Department of Environment and Natural Re-sources (DENR), NEDA, and NSCB, issued on 21 March 1997

Proclamation No. 1140 - Adopting the Philippine Statistical Development Program (PSDP) 2005-2010, issued on 19 September 2006

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National agencies in the PSS and the sub-national statistical systems engage in data production, coordination, or research and training. These agencies and units are often structurally independent, especially at the local level. At the national and regional levels, statistical activities are linked through coordination mechanisms in order to foster efficiency and effectiveness. Below the regional levels, i.e., provincial, city, municipality and barangay levels, statistical activities are also conducted according to the priorities of local chief executives but often without direct inter-institutional link-ages, especially to national agencies.

2.1.1 Data Production

At the national level, some MSAs, particularly the NSO and BAS, are engaged in primary data collection. The BLES and the Department of Economic Statistics of the BSP, to a limited extent, are also data producers but their statistics are based on either administrative-based sources or specialized surveys.

The NSO is the major statistical agency responsible for collecting, compiling, classifying, producing, publishing and disseminating general purpose statistics. It has the most visibility to the public by sheer scale and scope of functions. It conducts large-scale statistical operations such as the Census of Population and Housing (CPH), the Census of Philippine Business and Industry (CPBI), the Census of Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF) as well as sample surveys on households and establishments for generating general purpose statistics. Although the conduct of statistical activities, especially censuses, in the Philippines dates back to the Spanish occupation, the establishment of a national agency to take charge of generating general purpose statistics is attributed to CA No. 591. The NSO, headed by an Administrator with the rank of undersecretary, has a human resource plantilla of over three thousand authorized positions (as of 2007). The NSO also has the responsibility of carrying out and administering the provision of the Civil Registry Law as provided for in Republic Act No. 3753 dated 27 February 1931. The NSO also processes and compiles administrative-based statistics on domestic and foreign trade, business and housing permits and vital statistics from the civil registration system.

More specifically, the NSO is tasked to:

Prepare for and undertake all censuses on population, agriculture, com-merce and industry (Section 2, CA 591; Section 1, Batas Pambansa Bilang 72);

Conduct statistical surveys by enumeration, sampling and other methods (Section 2, Batas Pambansa Bilang 72);

Compile and classify other statistical data and information (Section 2, CA 591);

Conduct social and economic studies and make projections of population and households , agricultural production, income and the number of live-stock (Section 2, CA 591);

Publish and disseminate all information related to the above functions (Section 2, CA 591);

Assist the NSCB in the formulation of a continuing comprehensive statisti-cal program for the government (EO 121);

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Figure 2.1. Organizational Structure of the NSO

Provide technical assistance and support to projects of other statistical agencies and institutions (Section 5, Presidential Decree 418);

Carry out and administer the provisions of Republic Act No. 3753, entitled "An Act to establish a Civil Register" (Section 2, CA 591) and other laws on civil registration; and

Issue authorization to solemnizing officers in accordance with the provi-sions of Article 7 of the Family Code of the Philippines (EO No. 209 ef-fective 3 August 1988).

To undertake its large-scale operations, the NSO (see Figure 2.1) has five departments in its central office grouped along a mix of functional and subject matter lines, namely:

Civil Registration Department (CRD); General Administration Department (GAD); Household Statistics Department (HSD); Industry and Trade Statistics Department (ITSD); and Information Resources Department (IRD).

Each of the NSO departments has at least two divisions. The NSO also has its re-gional offices, under which are provincial and district offices.

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The BAS, a staff bureau of the DA, generates primary data on agriculture. It is headed by a Director and has 1,087 authorized positions (as of 2007) to meet its function of generating statistics on crop, livestock and poultry, and fishery production, prices and marketing of agricultural commodities, farm income and expenditure, farming sys-tems, agricultural finance, and socio-economic profiles of farm households. The BAS Director is supported by an Assistant Director, a Planning and Management Staff, an Administrative and Finance Division, and eight technical divisions. The organiza-tional structure of the BAS is shown in Figure 2.2. As a staff bureau of the DA, the BAS field operations are undertaken by its operations centers, which are present in all provinces of the country. The plantilla of the staff at these operations centers are con-sidered part of the central office. The BAS is a main user of the CAF, which is con-ducted once every ten years or so by the NSO, especially for developing sampling frames for its agricultural sample surveys. Section 16 of EO 116 defines the functions of the BAS as follows:

to collect, compile and release official agricultural statistics; to exercise technical supervision over data collection centers; and to coordinate all agricultural statistics and economic research activities of

all bureaus, corporations and offices under the Department of Agriculture. §

Further, Section 41 of Republic Act No. 8435 or the Agriculture and Fisheries Mod-ernization Act of 1997, approved on 22 December 1997, mandates the BAS to serve as the central information source and server of the National Information Network of the DA; and to provide technical assistance to end-users in accessing and analyzing product and market information and technology. In 2000, the BAS structural organi-zation was strengthened and reoriented pursuant to the relevant provisions of DA Ad-ministrative Order No. 6, series of 1998, in compliance with the provisions of the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act or RA 8435 of 1997.

The BLES, a staff bureau of the DOLE, produces labor and employment statistics. It generates statistics on labor turnover, industrial relations practices, labor organiza-tions, occupational injuries and illnesses, and occupational wage rates through estab-lishment-based inquiries, e.g., Occupational Wages Surveys (OWS), BLES Integrated Surveys (BITS), and Labor Turnover Survey. It also comes up with regular reports analyzing labor and employment data sourced from household surveys conducted by the NSO. The BLES, headed by a Director, has fifty-one authorized plantilla posi-tions (as of 2007). The functions of BLES, as per Section 21 of EO 126, are to:

Formulate, develop and implement plans and programs on the labor statis-tical system in order to provide the government with timely, accurate and reliable data on labor and employment;

Conduct nationwide surveys and studies which will generate trends and structures on labor and employment;

Develop and prescribe uniform standards, nomenclatures and methodolo-gies for the collection, processing, presentation and analysis of labor and employment data;

Establish appropriate mechanisms for the coordination of all statistical ac-tivities in the Department and for collaboration with other government and

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Figure 2.2. Organizational Structure of the BAS

private agencies, including international research organizations, in the con-duct of surveys and studies in the area of labor and employment;

Disseminate statistical information and provide statistical services/advice to the users by establishing a data bank and issuing the Bureau’s statistical materials and research findings;

Develop and undertake programs and projects geared toward the enhance-ment of the technical competence of the Department on theories, tech-niques and methodologies for the improvement of the labor statistical sys-tem;

Monitor and exercise technical supervision over the statistical units in the Department and its agencies; and

Perform such other functions as may be provided by law or assigned by the Secretary (of the DOLE).

The BSP, through its Department of Economic Statistics, monitors and compiles vari-ous statistical series on monetary, financial and external variables useful for the for-mulation and analysis of monetary, banking, credit and exchange policies. To in-crease public awareness on various economic and financial issues as well as promote transparency in its operations, the BSP releases various publications, reports, media releases and other relevant resource materials. The BSP also conducts the Business Expectations Survey and the Consumer Expectations Survey.

Aside from the NSO, BAS, BLES and the Department of Economic Statistics of the BSP, there are Departments, line agencies or bureaus/offices that are involved in gen-erating designated statistics. They include the:

National Food Authority (NFA), DA Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Department of Education (DEPED) Department of Energy (DOE) Forest Management Bureau (FMB), Department of Environment and Nat-

ural Resources (DENR) Land Management Bureau (LMB), DENR Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), DENR Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), DOLE Bureau of Customs (BOC), Department of Finance (DOF) Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), DOF Bureau of Treasury (BTR), DOF Department of Tourism (DOT) Department of Health (DOH) Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), Department of Science and

Technology (DOST) Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)

Other national government agencies are also engaged in the generation of sectoral statistics such as various bureaus of the DA, the Department of Transportation and Communication, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of National Defense (DND), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD),

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Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC), among others.

2.1.2 Management and Statistical Coordination of the PSS

The many statistical organizations comprising the decentralized PSS setup have multiple goals and sub-goals that need to be managed and coordinated to minimize duplication as well as to promote coherence and efficiency in the conduct of statistical activities. Many of these organizations were born out of the needs for evidence-based planning and decision-making across various administrative units in the government bureaucracy, from national to local planning needs. A national agency, the NSCB, is responsible (by virtue of EO 121) for horizontal coordination with the various statistical organizations within the national government’s administrative hierarchy, and for vertical coordination within the local statistical systems (by virtue of EO 135). EO 121 provided the NSCB with the mandate to formulate policies, delineate responsibilities, and set priorities and standards on statistical matters. Coordination involves the setting up of linkages among data producers, data users, training, and education and research institutions as well as executive and legislative offices within the government to enable outcomes of various data collection activities to be meaningfully related, with concepts, definitions, methodologies and classifications harmonized and statistical standards developed. Statistical coordination aims to achieve both efficiency and effectiveness in the implementation of the national statistical program. Efficiency means that statistical products and services are provided based on minimum costs, consequently minimizing duplication of efforts. Effectiveness means being both relevant to client demands and responsive to changing conditions while maintaining quality. Thus, coordination intends to have the PSS not only meet existing demands and priority requirements of stakeholders but also to generate further demand by having products and services that are useful.

The powers and functions of the NSCB as defined under Section 5 of EO 121 are as follows:

Prescribe uniform standards and classification systems in government statistics;

Promote and maintain an efficient statistical system in the government; Formulate policies on all matters relating to government statistical opera-

tions; Recommend executive and legislative measures to enhance the develop-

ment and efficiency of the system, including the internal structure of statis-tical agencies;

Establish appropriate mechanisms for statistical coordination at the re-gional, provincial and city levels;

Approve the PSDP; Allocate statistical responsibilities among government agencies by desig-

nating the statistics to be collected by them, including their periodicity and content;

Review budgetary proposals involving statistical operations and submit an integrated budget for the PSS to the DBM;

Review and clear, prior to release, all funds for statistical operations;

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Develop, prescribe and maintain appropriate frameworks for the improve-ment of statistical coordination; and

Prescribe uniform standards and classification systems in government sta-tistics.

As per EO 121, the NSCB is composed of the undersecretaries of the different Departments and the heads of the NSO and SRTC, and is chaired by the NEDA Director-General and Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning, and vice-chaired by the undersecretary of the DBM. Aside from the NEDA and DBM, the Departments represented in the NSCB include:

DAR DA DEPED DOE DENR DOF Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) DOH DILG DOJ DOLE DND DPWH DOST DSWD DOT Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC)

A representative of the private sector as well as a Governor or City Mayor nominated by the League of Governors or League of City Mayors, respectively, also sit in the NSCB.

The NSCB has a Technical Staff headed by a Secretary-General (with the rank of undersecretary). The NSCB Secretary-General is also a member of the NSCB. As shown in Figure 2.3, the NSCB Secretary-General is assisted by an Assistant Secretary-General and several offices and units including (a) Programs, Policies and Standards Office, (b) Social Statistics Office; (c) Economic Statistics Office; (d) Sub-national Statistics Office; (e) Management Service, and (f) National Statistical Information Center (NSIC). The NSCB Technical Staff is tasked under EO 121 to:

provide technical and secretariat support to the NSCB; serve as the statistical clearing house and liaison for international statistical

matters; and perform other functions as may be assigned by the NSCB and as may be

necessary to carry out the purposes of EO 121.

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Figure 2.3. Organizational Structure of the NSCB Technical Staff

Mechanisms for statistical coordination by the NSCB and its Technical Staff include:

Policy Resolutions of the NSCB – a compilation of policy issuances of the NSCB as the highest policymaking body on statistical matters;

Philippine Statistical Development Program –a five-year rolling blueprint of statistical activities to be undertaken by the PSS that articulates the data requirements of the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MT-PDP) and is formulated through consultative meetings with various sec-tors;

System of Designated Statistics (SDS) – a mechanism laid out through EO 352 (signed on 1 July 1996) that lists the most critical and essential statisti-cal activities and statistics that should be generated by the PSS with the specified frequency, major data items to be collected, level of disaggrega-tion, schedule of data dissemination and responsible agency;

Standards and Classification Systems – classification systems that include: (a) 1981 Philippine Classification of Commodities by Broad Economic Categories; (b) 1992 Philippine Standard Occupational Classification; (c) 1993 Philippine Standard Commodity Classification; (d) 1994 Philippine Standard Industrial Classification; (e) 1996 Philippine Standard Geo-graphic Code; (f) 1997 Philippine Standard Classification of Education; and (g) 2002 Philippine Central Product Classification, all of which have been adopted to ensure uniformity and comparability of statistics produced by government;

Statistical Survey Review and Clearance System (SSRCS)– a process through which all surveys and censuses to be conducted by or for all gov-ernment units are reviewed and approved before they can be conducted;

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Inter-agency Committees (IACs) and Technical Working Groups (TWGs)– bodies formed to address specific/sectoral statistical issues with representation from concerned groups, including the academe and the pri-vate sector;

Statistical Frameworks – frameworks and indicator systems such as the System of National Accounts (SNA), Statistical Indicators on Philippine Development, also formerly known as the Economic and Social Indica-tors, that have been developed and maintained to provide macro pictures of the country’s socio-economic performance and serve as important tools for statistical coordination;

Sub-national Statistical Coordination Committees – multi-sectoral commit-tees formed at the sub-national level to provide direction in the develop-ment of sub-national statistical systems with guidance from policy is-suances of the NSCB;

Government Statistics Accessibility Program (GSAP) – promotes best practices in information dissemination by all the component agencies of the PSS through the formulation of dissemination standards such as the General Standards on Statistical Information Dissemination which re-quires, among others, the dissemination of Advance Release Calendars and the development and maintenance of meta-data on PSS products; and

Conduct of statistical advocacy activities through the collaboration, coor-dination and cooperation of the entire statistical community in the country that promote statistics to the public. Advocacy activities spearheaded by the NSCB include the celebration of the National Statistics Month (every October), and the conduct of the National Convention on Statistics (held every three years), and some international conferences on statistical mat-ters.

EO 121 also provided the NSCB with the power to form IACs to assist it in the exercise of its functions toward achieving its intended goal of effective coordination. Aside from IACs, the NSCB has likewise established Technical Committees (TCs) and Task Forces (TFs) to coordinate and resolve concerns on statistical matters. Most of the IACs and TCs also have their sets of Technical Working Groups (TWGs). The list of TCs, IACs and TFs, as of February 2008, is enclosed as Annex 3 of this Report.

NSCB resolutions and memorandum orders/circulars are issued by the NSCB when there are new statistical frameworks and indicator systems, new mechanisms for statistical coordination and new methodologies or concepts, among others, for adoption and implementation by the various stakeholders of the PSS. The TCs, IACs and TFs are in place to assist the NSCB in developing such resolutions, memorandum orders and circulars. The NSCB meets every quarter in order to consider issues and emerging concerns related to coordination, standards and statistical activities, in general.

As part of its coordination efforts, the NSCB Technical Staff is engaged in the compilation of the national accounts. It also undertakes the estimation of poverty statistics. Both the national accounts and poverty statistics are designated statistics.

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EO 121 also provided the NSCB some budget coordination functions, i.e., to review and thus influence the budgets of statistical activities. This is seen in the NSCB structure of having an undersecretary of the DBM as its Vice-Chair.

2.1.3 Research and Training

In recognition of the need for research and training to strengthen capability for data production and compilation, EO 121 provided for the establishment of the SRTC as the research and training arm of the PSS. As specified in Section 10 of EO 121, the functions and responsibilities of the SRTC are as follows:

develop a comprehensive and integrated research and training program on theories, concepts and methodologies for the promotion of the statistical program;

undertake research on statistical concepts, definitions and methods; promote collaborative research efforts among members of the academic

community, data producers and users; conduct non-degree training programs to upgrade the quality of the statisti-

cal manpower base in support of the needs of the statistical system; and provide financial and other forms of assistance to enhance statistical re-

search and development.

EO 121 also provided the SRTC a Governing Board to formulate policies for the management and operations of the agency. The SRTC Governing Board is composed of the Secretary-General of the NSCB as Chair, with the following as members: the Administrator of the NSO, the Dean of the UP Diliman School of Statistics (UPSS), the Director of the BAS, a representative of the NEDA, and the Executive Director of the Philippine Social Science Council (PSSC). The Executive Director of SRTC, appointed by the SRTC Governing Board, serves as ex-officio member of the SRTC Governing Board.

As Table 2.1 shows, the SRTC conducted 5741 training programs of graduated complexity from 1988 to 2007. These training programs include the customized training programs that were designed and conducted to address the specific requirements of government agencies, and on limited occasions, private sector representatives. Regular training programs are offered to the general clientele, with a calendar of these training courses released at the beginning of the year. Topics discussed in both the regular and customized training sessions range from basic concepts in descriptive and inferential statistics to the more advanced time series analysis and multivariate analysis. During the period 1988 to 2007, 12,663 participants from the national line agencies, local government offices, private sector and foreign institutions benefited from the training courses. Resource persons of SRTC training sessions include SRTC technical staff as well as professional statisticians with extensive teaching experience in the academe, non-government offices and international organizations. Some of the SRTC resource persons are connected with academic institutions such as the University of the Philippines (UP) School of Statistics at Diliman, Quezon City and the UP Institute of Statistics at Los Baños, Laguna. Other resource persons are connected with the MSAs. Other lecturers

1 The number of training courses and training participants includes double counts: some courses have been re-run; some people may have attended more than one training course.

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are freelance human resource development experts and communication media specialists. For IT-related training, the SRTC usually taps resource persons from private IT companies, the Management Information System (MIS) unit of the DILG, and other government agencies. The SRTC has also recently gone into partnerships with selected higher educational institutions throughout the country in order to accelerate the conduct of training sessions outside Metro Manila. Training of trainors (TOTs) has been conducted, with participants of these TOTs now serving as lecturers of training courses by the SRTC regional training affiliates.

Table 2.1. Number of Training Courses Conducted by the SRTC from 1988 to 2007

Year

Number of Training Courses* Number of Participants*Regular Customized TOTAL Regular Customized TOTAL

1988 8** 137**1989 20** 425**1990 28** 738**1991 4 26 30 681**1992 7 17 24 158 409 5671993 5 17 22 101 539 6401994 13 5 18 181 113 2941995 4 25 29 66 604 6701996 5 17 22 95 370 4651997 14 20 34 253 422 6751998 13 13 26 200 287 4871999 21 15 36 377 436 8132000 24 7 31 398 152 5502001 14 13 32 236 332 7262002 18 22 40 308 488 7982003 4 33 37 42 875 9172004 1 46 47 9 820 8292005 5 22 27 33 562 5952006 8 18 26 99 379 478 2007 2 35 37 31 903 934

Annual Average 10 21 31 162 481 654

*Number of training sessions and participants includes double counts.**No disaggregation of courses and participants was available from 1988 to 1990, and of participants in 1991.

In-house statistical training sessions are also conducted by other MSAs aside from the SRTC since current SRTC staff are unable to meet even all the requirements of the NSO alone, more so the rest of the MSAs. For instance, the NSO regularly conducted Group A, Group B, Group C, MCO/CA training programs for its staff. The Group A training is a six-month general course in Statistics. There have been 21 batches of such Group A training sessions. Many of the current senior officials of the NSO are products of this Group A training program. The Group B training is a two-month course designed for rank-and-file employees who do not have sufficient educational background in statistics. At the end of the training program, participants are expected to be able to analyze and interpret statistical data, write reports incorporating the results of analyses and interpretation of statistical data. The Group C training is a clerical development course which aims to train employees involved in clerical work in doing simple analysis of statistical data. The Group A training has been recently revived while the other training programs are being redesigned for future implementation. The MCO/CA training was designed to improve the capabilities of the field personnel, including the statistical coordination officers, along the lines of various statistical operations. The training provided an opportunity to thresh out problems with various division chiefs on data collection and other related census activities. Recently, the MCO/CA training was revived as the Field Officers In-

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Service Training. Modules on management were incorporated and preparation of a provincial profile was made a requirement of the course.

The NSO also has mechanisms for its staff to undergo formal graduate programs. A memorandum of agreement was entered into by the NSO with the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) for the administration of the Master of Applied Statistics Program.

Since 2001, graduate scholarships have been provided by the SRTC to selected staff of MSAs under the Re-engineering the Philippine Statistical Services Phase II Project. Two persons were supported for Ph.D. programs in Statistics while the rest were supported for M.S. in Statistics programs. One of the Ph.D. scholars, however, backed out of the scholarship to pursue a job opportunity in the United States. As of 2007, only two of all these scholars have finished their graduate degrees.

As far as statistical research is concerned, the SRTC conducted 83 researches from 1989 to 2007. As Table 2.2 shows, six of these were in-house researches without funds; 32 were conducted by various institutions throughout the PSS through support from interest earnings of the SRTC Endowment Fund; 38 projects were undertaken with support of the MSAs of the PSS, and the remaining seven researches were conducted with support of other government agencies and/or the development community.

Table 2.2. Number of SRTC Researches by Funding Sources from 1989 to 2007

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Statistical researches are conducted not just by the SRTC but also throughout the PSS. All these researches are conducted chiefly by specialists within an agency. Statistical researches consider issues that affect the statistical production process, dissemination and/or utilization of statistics, or involve data analytic research. The latter are usually undertaken in collaboration with the academe. The PSS benefits from the collaboration and partnership with members of the academic and research communities who sit as chairpersons or members of various IACs, TCs and TFs, and who consequently serve as consultants for these research activities and projects.

2.1.4 Sub-national Statistical Systems

The enactment of the Local Government Code of 1991 mandated the devolution of basic government services to LGUs but without the corresponding mechanism and processes for sub-national statistical systems. EO 135 of 1993 sought to overcome this by tasking the NSO to provide, “when feasible and when budget permits, the statistics required for local level planning at the lowest disaggregation.” Although the NSO has regional, provincial and district offices, the only small area statistics that the NSO can provide are the aggregated population and demographic data from the CPH. Sample surveys conducted by the NSO have their domains either at the national or regional levels.

The BAS, which has regional and provincial operation centers, can only at best provide provincial agricultural data sourced from its sample surveys. Other data producers of the national government may have their sub-national offices which gather data at the sub-national levels and forward them to the central offices for consolidation. However, other than census data, there is no comprehensive source of comparable small area statistics from the MSAs and other data producers from national government that LGUs may use for their policy and planning requirements. Consequently, some LGUs are generating statistical information covering their respective areas for their planning and monitoring purposes either from their own local administrative forms, surveys or community-based monitoring systems. EO 135 provided the NSCB with the task of ensuring a vertical coordination of these sub-national statistical systems through the RSCCs. Accordingly, EO 135 provides that for specific data requirements of LGUs “that could not be made available from existing statistical activities of the national government, the generation of such statistics shall be done by the LGUs in coordination with the RSCCs.”

Specific concerns of LGUs are occasionally addressed. For instance, the BAS has recently conducted the Barangay Screening Survey and the Avian Population Survey, which provide some statistics down to the barangay level. During disasters, the MSAs are also tasked to assist the National Disaster Coordination Center (NDCC) to provide some statistical information, especially on the effects of calamities and disasters on production.

The horizontal coordination framework used at the national level by the NSCB with various stakeholders had been cascaded to the regional levels through the RSCCs. Aside from performing statistical coordination, the RSCCs are tasked to formulate policies and programs specific to a regional statistical system. The RSCCs also provide technical assistance to the data producers and users in the regions.

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The members of the RSCCs include agency regional directors, provincial planning and development coordinators and a representative from the private sector. These Committees are chaired by the NEDA Regional Director. Members of the RSCC secretariat are drawn from either the NSCB Technical Staff Regional Division or the NEDA Regional Staff when the NSCB Technical Staff are not present in the region. Due to the budgetary constraints of government, the NSCB is present only in ten (10) regions: Regions 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). NSCB Regional Divisions also manage and administer the regional branches of the NSIC, the one-stop shop of statistical information and services.

To enable data generated by LGUs to be consolidated, EO 135 gave NSCB (through the RSCCs) the task of formulating standards, i.e., concepts, definitions, techniques and methodologies. The NSCB was also given the power to designate an agency to consolidate local data produced by LGUs and to review the consistency of the statistics generated. To date, though, no such agency has been designated by the NSCB for such a task, owing to the lack of comparability of LGU statistics and standards by which LGUs undertake their respective data collection activities.

2.2 PSS Resources

The many distinct statistical organizations comprising the PSS have particular mandates and key result areas. The processes entailed in meeting these mandates are certainly influenced by the resources made available to the PSS, including human, financial and capital resources, which are described in this subsection.

2.2.1 Human Resources

The most vital assets of the PSS are its human resources. The NSCB estimated the statistical human resources across national government agencies and LGUs to be 32 per million population in 2002, lower than it was (34 per million) in 1999. The capability of the PSS, in particular, the MSAs, crucially depends on both the number of its human resources made available to deliver its functions as well as the caliber of such staff. The 2007 Special Committee to Review the PSS obtained invaluable information about the human resources in the PSS through the Performance Measurement Scheme (PMS) that was developed by the NSCB. Although the PMS was not meant to compare the performance of the different statistical agencies since each agency has unique functions and varying activities, it has nonetheless helped and continues to help the managers of the statistical agencies to judge their own performance and highlight areas of potential improvement. A questionnaire was accomplished by the MSAs and selected data producers in the PSS for fiscal years 2003 and 2006 and the results of said PMS suggest that despite growing data demands, plantilla positions in the PSS decreased from their 2003 levels to their 2006 levels (Table 2.3). This is apparently a result of the rationalization efforts throughout government that curb the filling in of vacant positions, whenever possible.

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Table 2.3. Human Resources of MSAs and Other Data Producers, 2003 and 2006 MSAs Other Data Producers

2003 2006 2003 2006Total Number of Authorized Positions 5,289 4,419 316 287Total Number of Authorized Filled Posi-tions 4,535 4,197 306 252 By Sex Male 1,906 1,714 80 70 Female 2,629 2,483 226 182 By Location of Office Central Office 1,784 1,603 199 192 Regional/Provincial Office 2,751 2,594 107 60 By Age Group 39 years and under 1,818 1,419 107 67 40 to 59 years 2,527 2,581 186 175 60 to 65 years 190 197 13 10 By Employment Status Permanent 4,147 3,840 277 251 Non-permanent 388 357 29 1

SOURCE: PMS, NSCB.

The sex profile of the personnel across MSAs is quite different from other data producers (and from the entire government bureaucracy). Nearly 60 percent of the workforce among MSAs in 2006 (see Table 2.3) was made up of women, as compared to 41 percent for men. As of 2004, meanwhile, women occupied 56 percent of the workforce in the entire bureaucracy. This rate is a weighted average of the rates across national government agencies (61%), government-owned and -controlled corporations (39%) and the LGUs (56%). For the MSAs and other data producers, over half the workforce is in the age group 40 to 60 years. More than nine out of ten personnel also have permanent positions, with the rate higher among other data producers in 2006 since a number of non-permanent positions were taken out of their respective plantilla.

Table 2.4 shows that personnel of MSAs with academic degrees in Statistics account for a very small proportion of total personnel. Only about one in twenty staff of the MSAs has a degree in Statistics, and only an insignificant number have PhDs in Statistics. This arises partly from the fact that the minimum qualification standards for statistician positions are degrees in Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, Economics or related fields, and not just degrees in Statistics and partly from the low output of statistics graduates from higher educational institutions.

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Table 2.4. Selected Statistics on Technical Personnel across the MSAs of the PSS, 2003 and 2006

Selected Statistics 2003 2006Total Number of Personnel with Statistics degree 208 251 BS 141 181 Diploma 0 4 MAS/MoS 51 45 MS 14 19 PhD 2 2Total Number of Personnel without Statistics degree but with training in Statistics 1,505 1,498 Central Office 616 551 Regional Office 889 947Total Number of Personnel with degree in Information Technology 147 93 Central Office 73 45 Regional Office 74 48Total Number of Personnel without degree in Information Technology but w/ training in Information Technology 1,482 1,583

Central Office 806 765 Regional Office 676 818Total Number of Personnel who attended/participated in Statistical Trainings 688 390 Central Office 602 249 Local 568 226 Foreign 34 23 Regional Office 86 141 Local 84 137 Foreign 2 4

SOURCE: PMS, NSCB.

Very few higher educational institutions in the country currently offer Statistics degree programs. Although a number of personnel do not have Statistics degrees, many, if not all of those occupying statistician posts (and some IT personnel), have attended training sessions in Statistics. As Table 2.4 shows, one out of three personnel in the MSAs may not have Statistics degrees but they have had training in Statistics. The participation in Statistics training programs, however, has declined. The proportion of staff with IT degrees is even smaller than the proportion of staff with Statistics degrees, with the actual number of staff with IT degrees declining in 2006 by a third of the 2003 level. In contrast, the number of staff with Statistics degrees increased, but the proportion of staff with advanced degrees in Statistics declined during the same period.

Table 2.5 shows that over a third of employee turnover in 2006 was either due to resignation or transfer, with the rates higher in the central office than in the regional offices. In the regional offices, 60 to 70 percent of employee turnover was due to retirement while in the central offices, the corresponding rate was lower (around 40 to 50 percent). According to the IMF document "Philippines: Report on Observance of Standards and Codes- Data Module, response by Authorities, and Detailed Assessments Using Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF)", the NSCB has a fairly high turnover of new Technical Staff, who typically remain at work less than five years, attracted by better work compensation and opportunities outside the NSCB. However, about 20 NSCB Technical Staff have also worked at the NSCB for more than five years.

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Table 2.5. Total Number of Employee Turnover in the MSAs of the PSS by Reason and Location, 2003 and 2006

Reason

2003 2006Central Offices

Regional Offices

Total Central Offices

Regional Offices

Total

Resigned 11 18 29 21 34 55Transferred 4 6 10 10 1 11Died 4 7 11 3 9 12Retired 32 76 108 32 70 102On-leave 10 0 10 11 4 15

Total 61 107 168 77 118 195SOURCE: PMS, NSCB.

2.2.2 Financial Resources

As in many countries, the PSS is largely financed by the national government, with some occasional support from the development community (see Table 2.6). Budgets for statistical activities account for a meager share of GDP: about one twentieth of one percent. The share of the consolidated budget of the six MSAs as a percent of GDP is practically the same in 2003 and 2006 (less than .05 percent). Statistical expenditures as a percent of government expenditures (excluding the allotment for the IRA and interest payments) are only a quarter of one percent and the levels (in real terms) have been reduced by around 4 percent in 2006 from their levels in 2003.

Table 2.6. Selected Budget Statistics of MSAs & Other Data Producers, 2003 and 2006

MSAs Other Data Producers2003 2006 2003 2006

Total Proposed Budget to DBM (in thousand pesos) 2,598,303 2,936,990 80,440 44,922Total Approved Budget (in thousand pesos) 1,719,977 1,222,469 32,840 42,375Percent Budget Approved 66.2 % 41.6 % 40.8 % 94.3 %Proportion of Statistical Budget to GDP in thousand pesos (current prices) 0.042 % 0.048 % 0.0013 % 0.00094 %Proportion of Actual Expenses in Statistics to Government Expenses in thousand pesos (current prices) 0.24 % 0.23 % 0.01 % 0.01 %Amount Received from Donor Funding (in thousand pesos) 90,711 78,112 22,889 13,818

Note: Proposed and approved budgets are given in current prices; government expenditures excludes the allotment for the internal revenue allotment, interest payments, subsidy, equity, net lending, tax expenditures, and doc. stamp tax. SOURCE: PMS, NSCB.

Declining trends in budgets suggest the low prioritization for statistics by government, despite the pressures on the PSS to generate more data for its needs. Necessary alloca-tions for statistical activities from national resources are not provided. Consequently, the MSAs have found themselves having to deal with substantial “need deficits,” i.e., gaps between the proposed and approved budgets (Table 2.7).

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Table 2.7. Need Deficit of MSAs, 2003 and 2006

YearProposed Bud-get (in Million

Php)

Approved Bud-get (in Million

Php)

“Need Deficit” (in

Million Php)

“Need Deficit” as Percent of Pro-posed Budget

2003 2,598 1,720 878 33.80%2006 2,937 1,222 1,715 58.39%

The entire process for obtaining budgets involves a rather rigid examination of proposed budgets at different phases. MSAs are not exempt from such a process and have to compete with other priority activities of the national government to undertake their projects and programs, including those that are meant for generating the designated statistics. The following activities outline the entire procedure for obtaining the budget for a statistical activity.

a) Agency Preparation of Budget : The agencies prepare the requirements for con-ducting a statistical activity. The budget for the entire agency is based on the pro-vision in the National Budget Call. In case there is no provision on the agency budget, the agency coordinates with the Department in-charge, i.e., the DA for BAS, the DOLE for BLES and NEDA for NSO.

b) Agency Submission to the Department : For NSCB, NSO and SRTC, the budget is submitted to the NEDA. For BAS and BLES, the budget is submitted to the DA and the DOLE, respectively. The department concerned endorses the budget to DBM, subject to its own set of priorities.

c) NSCB Evaluation of Statistics Budget : EO 121 mandates the NSCB to undertake a review of budget proposals for statistical activities and to submit an integrated budget for the PSS to the DBM. With the issuance of the implementing guide-lines on EO 352, the NSCB, starting in 1997, is required to endorse to DBM the budget proposals concerning the SDS. The NSCB budget review covers national government agencies (NGAs) only; it does not cover the statistics budgets of gov-ernment-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and LGUs. For NGAs, those that submitted a line item or set of programs, activities or projects (P/A/P) for statistical activities will be covered in the review. In the evaluation of statisti-cal budget proposals, the NSCB utilizes the following frameworks:

The SDS as a mechanism for the identification and generation of the most criti-cal and essential statistics and emerging ones;

Planning and Budgetary Thrusts for Statistical Activities issued by the NSCB; The latest PSDP as the blueprint of statistical development in the PSS and as an

instrument for identifying statistical development programs that will provide statistical information in support of the MTPDP;

The budget framework spelled out in the National Budget Call; and The latest MTPDP.

The NSCB submits its recommendation to the DBM with a copy furnished to the agency concerned.

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d) DBM Technical Budget Review : Budget analysts of the DBM verify the assump-tions used by the agency in preparing the budget. In case an additional budget over and above the ceiling provided is proposed, an agency is required to justify the conduct of the activity.

e) Submission of DBM-recommended budget to the Office of the President (OP) : The DBM provides its recommendation for the national budget and discusses this with all agencies. In this phase, agencies request for the inclusion of funds for regular activities such as the conduct of the Labor Force Survey in the case of the NSO, or for operating expenses which may have changed such as rental expenses. Once the agencies and the DBM agree on the budget, this is finalized for submis-sion to the OP. Normally, the President’s budget should be submitted to Congress before the State of the Nation Address (SONA). However, in the past years, the President’s budget has been submitted after the SONA.

f) Budget Deliberation at the House of Representatives : Heads of national govern-ment agencies attend hearings conducted in relation to their performance, activi-ties and budget proposals conducted by the Development Budget Coordinating Committee as well as the Committee/Sub-committee on Appropriations, The agencies are likewise required to submit additional materials on their proposed budgets such as breakdown of expenses on rent and traveling. Once the budget for all national government agencies is approved in a plenary session, this is en-dorsed to the Senate.

g) Budget Deliberation at the Senate : The heads of national government agencies are asked to attend hearings at the Senate to legislate the national budget. Additional details similar to the ones requested by the House may be submitted. Once the budget for all national government agencies is approved in a plenary session, this is forwarded to a Bicameral Committee.

h) Bicameral Agreement : Discussions between the provisions that are inconsistent in the version from the House of Representatives and the Senate are threshed out in this Bicameral Committee. If an agreement materializes, a General Appropria-tions Act is drafted and submitted for the approval of the President.

i) Signing of the General Appropriations Act by the President of the Philippines.

j) Release of Funds: The budget for mandatory expenses, i.e., personnel services and regular maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), are released monthly to the agency. In practice, however, the MOOE allocation that is released is not sufficient. Thus, the agencies have to request DBM for additional budget release and provide the justification for the additional funds requested. For locally funded projects, that is, activities that are not done periodically, the agency is required to submit a detailed timetable of activities. This serves as input to the cash program and agency budget matrix which identifies budget expense needing clearance and not needing clearance from the OP, to be prepared by the DBM. The fund re-leases will depend on the cash program and other submissions required from the agency.

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Some MSAs such as the BAS and BLES have resorted to constantly requesting other agencies within their respective departments for budgets from programs and projects under these agencies to fund data collection. The BAS, as an agency of the DA, gets an additional P30 million yearly allocation from various projects. This allocation is even bigger than its regular budget. Such an allocation enables the BAS to undertake special projects, including data collection. The BLES sources some of its resources for primary data collection from the Occupational Safety and Health Center and the Employees Compensation Commission. Except for the Occupational Wages Survey (OWS), the BLES consolidated its data-gathering activities under the BLES Integrated Survey (BITS) starting in 2003 to maximize the use of its limited resources. The NSO resorts to facilitating the budget for the scheduled field data collection through direct liaison with the DBM to ensure the release of allocation for its field data collection and the procurement of data processing equipment to process the data collected.

Some of the MSAs such as the SRTC and the NSO have also been allowed to use some, if not all, of their incomes for improving their operations. Since 2002, the SRTC has been allowed to use its income from training activities to finance improvements in its training facilities. In 2007, the SRTC earned nearly half a million pesos for its training operations and most of these earnings have been used to upgrade some of their training equipment. Interest earnings from the SRTC Endowment Fund have also been used to supplement its operations, including the conduct of research activities and the financing of improved facilities. In the case of the NSO, the bulk of its income is derived from civil registration applications, with the remainder of the revenues coming from the sale of NSO products and data requests. As Table 2.8 shows, in 2007, the NSO was allowed to have 14 percent of its income in excess of targets to be reverted back to the agency in order to improve its operations, but such reverted income could not be used to supplement personal services expenses. The proportion of NSO’s income which was reverted to the agency ranged from a low of 12.2 percent in 2003 to a high of 25 percent in 2005.

Table 2.8. NSO Annual Budget and Income, 1998 – 2007 (in thousand pesos)

Fiscal Year

Budget for Regular Program

Budget for Projects

Income

Personal Services

MOOE

Capital Outlay TOTAL

Total In-come Gen-erated

Income Reverted to NSO

% of In-come Re-verted to NSO

1998 456,409 139,505 12,494 608,408 57,786 60,7621999 452,277 136,969 500 589,746 154,733 75,3442000 442,298 146,920 589,218 942,139 107,3702001 486,016 162,969 648,985 78,970 136,529 26,416 19.32002 504,341 137,912 3,000 645,253 247,664 181,041 40,851 22.62003 501,980 104,010 605,990 421,434 192,826 23,521 12.22004 501,680 120,508 622,188 103,933 258,404 46,930 18.22005 513,458 138,860 1,000 653,318 3,000 315,508 78,735 25.02006 524,955 138,860 663,815 50,349 382,039 64,232 16.82007 554,970 239,232 10,600 804,802 1,798,629 421,354 60,876 14.4

Note that around 70 to 80 percent of the regular expenditures of the NSO are for personal services. This is a lower rate than that of BAS. For 2000 and 2007, budgets for NSO projects considerably increased due to the conduct of the CPH.

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2.2.3 Other Resources

The kind of office environment in which one works affects the quality of work done. Various IT equipment are essential in statistical offices for data processing, data analysis and data dissemination. Table 2.9, sourced also from the PMS results, lists some selected indicators on office conditions and IT equipment available to the MSAs and other data producers, which are indicative of their statistical infrastructure. It can be observed from the table that very few statistical offices own their office buildings. Among the MSAs, offices that have first rate furniture and equipment, accommodation in space and services, and structural and physical conditions are also the offices that have their own buildings. Half of the MSAs do not have reasonable office environments. As far as IT equipment is concerned, although the total number of servers in the MSAs exceeds those of the corresponding aggregate for other data producers, the employee-to-computer ratio is much lower among MSAs. Internet access in relative terms has also improved more among other data producers than among MSAs. Some MSAs such as the BLES, Department of Economic Statistics of the BSP, SRTC and NSCB, however, have high employee- to-computer ratios. All their computers are also linked by a network. All NSCB Technical Staff, especially at the central office, are provided with a personal computer and internet access through the NSCB’s own server. The BAS and NSO, on the other hand, are in the process of improving their employee-to-computer ratios, but their ratios are lower than those shown in this table since some of their staff involved in field operations share computer resources.

Table 2.9. Selected Indicators on Other Resources (aside from Human and Financial Resources) of MSAs and Other Data Producers, 2003 and 2006

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National Statistical

AgenciesOther Data Produc-

ers2003 2006 2003 2006

Total Number of Agencies that Own Office Buildings 2 2 9 9Total Number of Agencies by Level of Structural and Physical Secu-rity Conditions in Offices Level 1 - structurally unsound and physical security issues not addressed 0 0 0 1Level 2 -office building reasonably sound structurally but some aspects of physical security and protection of computer facilities inadequate 3 2 2 0Level 3 -office building structurally sound with adequate provisions of physical security but some areas of improvement 2 3 4 5Level 4 -office building structurally sound with good provisions of physical security and good protection computer facilities and procedures 1 1 3 3Total Number of Agencies by Level of Accommodation in Space and Services Level 1 - accommodation seriously inadequate in space, or services irregular and suffer from intermittent failure 0 0 0 0Level 2 - accommodation deficient in space, or services involve intermittent failure 1 1 1 0Level 3 - accommodation somewhat deficient in space or services 3 2 1 3Level 4 - accommodation adequate in size and well-serviced 1 2 3 2Total Number of Agencies by Level of Adequacy of Furniture and Equipment Level 1 - office equipment seriously inadequate to the point of hampering statistical activities 0 0 1 1Level 2 - office furniture and equipment inadequate 2 1 1 0Level 3 - office furniture and equipment reasonably adequate to perform required tasks 3 3 2 4Level 4 - office furniture and equipment adequate to perform required tasks 1 2 3 2Employee to Computer Ratio 0.5 0.5 0.8 0.8Number of Computers with Internet Access Per 100 Employees 15.4 17.5 13.1 50.8Number of Servers 35 37 19 32

SOURCE: PMS, NSCB.

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2.3 Statistical Products and Services

The key result areas of the MSAs and other data producers in the national government include (i) censuses, sample surveys and administrative records; (ii) derived data systems and indicators, including the national accounts; (iii) other special non-regular data collection activities; (iv) the civil registration system; (v) statistical classification systems; (vi) statistical researches; (vii) statistical training programs; and (viii) activities for statistical advocacy. Many of these products and services have been discussed in the first section of this chapter. Further discussion is provided here about the current status of the System of Designated Statistics (SDS), censuses, sample surveys, and the civil registration system.

The distribution of 48 major surveys and censuses by frequency of conduct is listed in Table 2.10. Sixty-seven percent of these are regular and 33 percent are periodic surveys. A listing of the sample surveys and censuses that have undergone the SSRCS is shown in Annex 4. This list includes the regularly conducted surveys in the PSS as well as some special non-regular surveys.

Table 2.10. Distribution of PSS Censuses and Major Surveys by Frequency of Conduct

Frequency of Conduct NumberA. RegularDaily / 3 Times a Week / Weekly

4

Monthly 10Quarterly 10Semestral 2Annual 6

B. PeriodicEvery Two Years 3Every Three Years 2Every Four Years 3Every Five Years or More 8

The SDS identifies the statistics and activities required for social and economic plan-ning/analysis based on approved criteria. It establishes priorities for data production and hence, provides a means for more rational resource allocation among government statistical activities. Under EO 352, the NSCB designates the activities and statistics to be adopted by the government. Upon issuance of the EO, fifty-five designated sta-tistics and activities were identified. The NSCB is also authorized under EO 352 to modify, i.e., add or delete activities and statistics, based on its evaluation and moni-toring, in accordance with basic statistical standards and in consultation with data pro-ducers and users. Subsequent NSCB resolutions have been issued to designate five additional statistics and activities.

The list of sixty designated activities/statistics and the twenty responsible institutions for these activities and their implementation for 2002-2006 are shown in Annex 5. They include three censuses, 25 surveys, 17 administrative data systems, and 15 de-rived data systems/indicators. The NSCB reported that for 2002-2006, eight desig-

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nated activities/statistics were ahead of schedule, 13 were on schedule, and 28 were delayed (cf. Annex 6). Some of the designated activities/statistics have been inte-grated such as the National Health Survey, which was last conducted in 1993 and in-tegrated with the National Demographic Survey to become the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). Two designated activities/statistics have been discontin-ued, namely:

the Annual Survey of Construction Projects of Local Government Units - last conducted in CY 2003; data available at the Commission on Audit;

Employment, Hours and Earnings Survey - last conducted in CY 2002; in-cluded in the BITS.

Four designated activities/statistics have undergone changes in the frequency of their conduct:

Inventory of National Roads and Bridges – Starting CY 2005, improve-ment from annual to monthly through the Road and Bridge Information Application System developed by the DPWH

Commercial Fish Catch Survey – From monthly to quarterly due to bud-getary constraint

Municipal Fish Catch Survey – From monthly to quarterly due to bud-getary constraint

OWS - every 2 years instead of semestral starting CY 1997. (NSCB Res. No.1, series of 1998).

Many of the statistics derived from these surveys and censuses, and other administra-tive records are feeding into another designated statistical activity, the Philippine Sys-tem of National Accounts (PSNA), which follows the concepts and definitions of the 1968 SNA. The national accounts, compiled by the NSCB, serve as the country’s pri-mary measure of economic performance. The present PSNA generates Gross Domes-tic Product (GDP) estimates, with 1985 as base year, in both current and constant prices, both by production and by expenditure approach procedures, with an annual breakdown by factor income. It also generates consolidated accounts of the country, income and outlay accounts by sector and regional accounts (annually). The scope, classification and basis of recording are broadly in accordance with international guidelines. Experts, however, currently suggest weaknesses in the PSNA and trace these weaknesses chiefly to:

the use of constant 1985 prices; the lack of mechanisms for measuring the unorganized sector; the lack of

information on intermediate consumption in establishment surveys; limitations in accounting for births and deaths of firms; the use of outdated agricultural census frames; the inability to capture electronic commerce transactions of new firms and

products in a timely fashion; and the growth in industries for which output was never well defined or where

an acceleration of changes in the products and structure of these industries has complicated the measurement of quality changes.

A pilot compilation of the 1993 PSNA has been undertaken through technical assis-tance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). A number of ongoing activities, in-

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cluding the implementation of the 1993 SNA recommendations, are meant to update the PSNA series to enhance its analytical use and will eventually result in a new benchmark - revised, rebased and linked PSNA series with 2000 as the base year. The NSCB also conducts revision studies of the national accounts on a regular basis. De-velopment and institutionalization of several satellite accounts from the PSNA have been pursued. These satellite accounts include the Philippine Integrated System of Economic and Environmental Accounting, Philippine Satellite Accounts in Tourism, Philippine National Health Accounts, Local Health Accounts, and National Education Expenditure Accounts. The NSCB also compiles Input-Output (IO) tables with a scheduled five-year frequency. The most recent IO Tables available correspond to 2000.

Another statistical service that the PSS is known for is the NSO’s Civil Registration System, the governmental machinery setup across the country for the purpose of legally recording vital events such as births, marriages and deaths as well as all de-crees, legal instruments and judicial orders affecting a person’s civil status in appro-priate Registers as mandated by the Civil Registry Law, i.e., Act No. 3753. Vital events are those which have to do with an individual’s entrance into or departure from life, together with the changes in civil status which may occur to him/her during his/her lifetime. These events are birth, death, marriage, annulment of marriage, declara-tion of void marriage, foundling, legal separation, legitimation, acknowledgment, guardianship, adoption, change of name, naturalization, election of Philippine citizen-ship, civil interdiction, judicial determination of filiations and the emancipation of mi-nors.

Civil registry documents are an ideal source of statistics on important demographic processes such as fertility, mortality and nuptiality which in turn are the basic infor-mation needed for monitoring population growth. Such information also serves to val-idate demographic statistics generated from the CPH. The civil registration system also allows for the generation of indicators useful in the formulation of health pro-grams. While vital statistics derived from registration are needed for population esti-mation, population projections and other analytical studies which are important and useful to planners and policymakers, they also provide the bases for forecasting re-quirements for food, housing, medical facilities, education and other needs of the pop-ulation. Thus, vital statistics sourced from the civil registration system can be essen-tial in planning for social and economic development. However, owing to the contin-ued under-registration of vital events, the expected uses cannot be relied on.

The NSO Administrator also acts as the Civil Registrar-General. In administering the provisions of Act No. 3753 and other laws on civil registration, the Civil Registrar-General is assisted by the Regional Directors and Provincial Statistics Officers of the NSO. They oversee and monitor civil registration activities within their respective ar-eas of jurisdiction. The Civil Registrar-General has technical control and supervision over City Civil Registrars, Municipal Civil Registrars and other officials charged to carry out and enforce the civil registry laws. Administrative supervision over these civil registrars at the local level, however, lies with the corresponding LGU chief ex-ecutive. In the exercise of this technical and supervisory function, the Civil Registrar-General has the power to declare ultra vires any act of the civil registrars inconsistent with the prescribed standards, criteria and procedures mentioned in the implementing rules and regulations and other pertinent laws on civil registration.

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Various certifications can be obtained from the Office of the Civil Registrar-General. These include, among others, certifications for birth, death, marriage, adoption, legiti-mation, dissolution of marriage, and record of no marriage.

Issuance of certification of birth is subject to the confidentiality clause of Article 7 of the Child and Youth Welfare Code while issuance of certification on adoption is sub-ject to the confidentiality clause of Section 15 of Republic Act No. 8552. Applications for such certifications may be made in person by the owner or by his/her representa-tive at different Census Serbilis Centers, which include the NSO East Ave. Office in Quezon City and a number of extension offices across selected LGUs.

In addition to the availability of such transactions at Census Serbilis Centers, there is an NSO Helpline Plus Call Center that services applications for birth, marriage and death certificates through telephone (737-1111). People can call the hotline at any time of the day or night and “order” their civil registry document. Upon payment of a fee higher than the usual basic charge for the document, and after the processing pe-riod, the requested document is delivered right at the doorstep of the owner of the document. In addition, service applications for civil registry documents can also be made through the internet at http://www.e-census.com.ph. Like Helpline, the docu-ment is also delivered to any Philippine address specified by the owner of the docu-ment. E-census and the NSO Helpline Plus are serviced by the NSO in collaboration with Pilipinas Teleserv, Inc., a private sector partner at no cost to the government.

Processing of these certifications has improved considerably owing to the computerization of the Civil Registration System and the private sector partnership that has effectively streamlined the processing of requests for these civil registration documents.

2.4 Data Management, Dissemination and Archiving

Since the PSS exists to serve data needs of decision-makers and the public in general for improved policy and program formulation, a fundamental goal of the PSS is to provide wide access to data produced by the PSS. Dissemination of statistical infor-mation assists in ensuring the relevance and usefulness of the PSS. As an added bene-fit, information dissemination activities also help the PSS in generating some income. Archiving practices ensure that PSS primary and secondary data and other informa-tion are preserved against technological obsolescence and physical damage, and pro-vide a mechanism to exploit the research potentials of information.

Designated activities and statistics of the PSS have advanced release calendars. Pre-release access is given to some designated statistics in order to allow key decision-makers to interpret these statistics to the public during the time of their release. For instance, national accounts are transmitted to the Chairman of the NSCB and the President of the Philippines one or two days before their release; employment data are transmitted to the NEDA Director-General two days ahead of release and to the President, upon clearance of NEDA; and the Balance of Payments account is made available to the BSP Governor and the Monetary Board two working days prior to release. On the day of release of the designated statistics, press releases, printed copies of the power point presentations and other bulletins are issued to the press.

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Adherence to and adoption of the GSAP and the General Standards on Statistical Information Dissemination (GSSID) is fairly practiced across the PSS. The GSAP was implemented in 1998 with the vision of making statistical information and services in the country highly accessible to users nationwide and worldwide. Its conceptualization was anchored on the fundamental principle that information is used for decision-making and therefore, the timeliness and integrity of the information should be ensured. The components of the program include the organization of an inter-agency consortium, issuance of an executive measure providing for the program as a flagship project of the government, investments on technology upgrading, systems and human resource development, adoption of common policies and standards and alliance with the private sector. In 1999, the GSAP paved the way for implementing the GSSID in the PSS. The GSSID was designed as a government mechanism in setting appropriate and acceptable standards of reliability, integrity, timeliness, transparency, and accessibility of government statistics. Specifically, it promotes adherence to these standards in the dissemination of statistical information and greater utilization of data, fosters adoption of generally accepted data dissemination practices, and involves active participation of users in making statistics more accessible and useful. Worth noting is the standard on the dissemination in advance of the calendar of release. On the long-term basis, the GSSID also serves as a tool to address data gaps and spur continuing improvements on data dissemination. The GSSIS was inspired by the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) prescribed by the IMF.

Results of other data collection activities, training programs and research outputs as well as contact persons on these statistical products and services are disseminated to the public through various media, including printed publications, press releases, fact sheets, special releases, bulletins, and electronic means, especially the internet. Data, reports on data, and research reports are also disseminated in CD-ROMs, and/or shared through e-mail to expedite data release as well as reduce cost of dissemination.

Publications are also sometimes distributed electronically through the internet, especially technical notes on methodology and data sources (metadata), and other products considered as public goods. Other publications are sold to users at a reasonable cost.

The NSCB, for instance, sells its publications and other publications of the MSAs in its National Statistical Information Center (NSIC), a network of one-stop shops of information products and services. The NSIC attempts to facilitate data gathering for researchers and data users given the decentralized statistical system’s setup. Several branches of the NSIC have now been established in selected regions where NSCB Technical Staff Regional Divisions are present. Services provided include frontline and library services, bookshops and technical services.

The NSO also established accredited data centers (ADCs) nationwide composed mostly of state universities, public libraries and universities to cater to the needs of the academe. The NSO regularly provides the ADCs selected publications free of charge. The ADCs have grown in number from the 77 initially operated in January 1997 to the 88 ADCs as of this writing.

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MSAs and other data producers also maintain their own libraries which are open to the public.  Other government and private libraries contain statistics corners where statistical publications of the PSS are available.

Various dialogues with users are conducted for data dissemination. The NSO, BAS, BLES and NSCB conduct data users’ and dissemination fora throughout the country, both at the regional and provincial levels. Such dissemination fora serve as advocacy for changes of concepts, e.g., the revised definition of unemployment, or new concepts such as core inflation, and the Philippine Labor Index. These fora as well as special seminars and conferences are occasions for highlighting results of the various surveys and censuses conducted, and for the release of some designated and special statistics. Dialogues with users are also conducted during meetings of IACs, TCs, and TFs. These fora can also serve as a means for capacity building of users in the proper utilization of data produced by the PSS. Since quality is essentially a function of user satisfaction, such dialogues with users provide an avenue not only for disseminating statistical products and services but also for ensuring that statistical work programs are demand-driven and reflect essential policy concerns. Thus, such fora help facilitate priority setting for non-regular statistical activities.

Web links have also been developed among the MSAs and other data producers as well as with other government agencies to improve access to information for researchers and various data users. The MSAs provide access to their data, and information on their products and services through their respective websites, namely:

National Statistical Coordination Board: http://www.nscb.gov.ph National Statistics Office: http://www.census.gov.ph Bureau of Agricultural Statistics: http://www.bas.gov.ph Bureau of Labor & Employment Statistics: http://www.bles.dole.gov.ph Statistical Research & Training Center: http://www.srtc.gov.ph Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas: http://www.bsp.gov.ph

Agency statistical calendars are often found on the websites. They serve as useful guide to data users in their search for statistical information from government sources. The statistical calendar contains information on the statistical activities of the agency such as the frequency, outputs to be generated, expected data and mode of release, and contact person.

The NSCB Technical Staff also disseminates through its website its Interactive Statistical Databases Service (I-Stats), a subscription service for viewing and downloading datasets. The datasets cover various time series of more than 100 economic and social indicators produced by the different government agencies in the PSS. The BAS likewise hosts in its website the Country-STAT Philippines, a web-based system that integrates national food and agricultural statistical information, and meta-data on this information. The BAS CountrySTAT Philippines, developed through support of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, in cooperation with the PSA, is organized according to major domains identified by the FAO and under two major groups: CountrySTAT Core and the CountrySTAT Sub-national. The core data consist of national data shared with FAOSTAT database while the related or sub-national data are those with sub-national relevance. The CountrySTAT Core and Sub-national data provide end-users with the

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possibility of “navigating” through the databases from either geographic or thematic paths.

The NSO features statistical information in its website, especially its Quickstat, i.e., the NSO's most requested statistics. Published every month, the Quickstat contains the previous month's estimates of the consumer price index (CPI) and inflation rate as well as the most recent foreign and domestic trade figures. The Quickstat also contains statistics on labor and employment, manufacturing indices, family income and expenditures, population statistics and private building construction.

Aside from generating primary and secondary data, the PSS also occasionally comments on a variety of statistical concerns, including popularizing statistical concepts, and responding to erroneous interpretations or misuses of statistics. The NSCB Secretary-General, for instance, issues a “Statistically Speaking” series that is also disseminated through the NSCB website. Written communications are also issued to the press and may result in newspaper stories featuring these communications or may be featured in articles of newspaper columnists.

Aside from disseminating information through print media, fora and the internet, the NSO also has a radio program entitled Census Serbilis sa Himpapawid, later renamed Census Serbilis sa Radyo. The radio program regularly airs over DZRB-Radyo ng Bayan (738kHz) every Saturday from 6:30 a.m.to 7:30 a.m. Topics discussed in the program vary from issues on Civil Registration, to the results of current surveys and statistical activities of the MSAs and other data producers.

Researchers may also probe more on the results of primary data collected by the PSS. The NSO develops public use files (PUFs), i.e., electronic microdata files that consist of records at the respondent level, for all its sample surveys and censuses. Each record on the file corresponds to a single responding, in-scope sampled unit, and each record consists of values of characteristic variables for that respondent but with care to ensure the confidentiality of the identities of the respondents. The NSO removes all obvious identifiers of respondents such as name and address from PUFs. These PUFs come bundled with a software, namely, the CS-Pro developed by the U.S. Bureau of Census that allows the construction and maintenance of data dictionaries, generation of cross-tabulations, and viewing of tables and text files. These PUFs are sold to data users; the proceeds of such sales form part of the NSO income.

Practices on data processing and dissemination, however, vary across the PSS. The BAS, for one, does not regularly develop micro-data files for its surveys. Many of its surveys are processed into aggregated form as worksheets at the operations centers and forwarded to the central office. Such electronic worksheets as well as micro-data files, are available for free from the BAS to any data user upon request.

Information management facilities across MSAs are also uneven and consequently, so are archiving (and dissemination) practices. The NSCB developed guidelines and policies regarding data archiving of final outputs, i.e., statistical data at the lowest possible data disaggregation available, methodologies, concepts as well as metadata. Priorities on data archiving are given to the designated activities and statistics. Currently, data archiving is decentralized, but efforts are being made toward having a central repository of all data archiving efforts. The NSO, being the largest of the

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MSAs in size and function, has developed systems to preserve and protect, systematically store and retrieve records of data from the censuses and surveys it has conducted, and documents on the civil registration system. This system includes having research institutes and other data partners as back-up offsite repositories. The NSO has various offsite back-up facilities for its civil registration documents.  For statistical data, the NSO uses back-up facilities in adjacent buildings.

Clearly, however, the present lack of buildings owned by the MSAs, especially the major primary data producers such as the NSO and BAS, prevents these statistical agencies from having a proper data archive.

The NSCB, BAS, and BLES have likewise started to develop data archiving systems and measures to preserve information and documents against technological obsolescence and physical damage. The NSCB, through its NSIC, maintains two archives: (1) for printed documents/hard copy, and (2) for electronic files/soft copy. Should there be no soft copy version of printed documents, then the printed document is digitized into a portable document file (PDF) version. Two servers are dedicated for the electronic copies of materials: one is for storage and the other one is for back-up. A database of archive holdings is maintained and updated when new documents/files are archived. The database serves as a catalogue of the archived materials. A future plan of the NSCB Archive System includes the indexing of electronic copies to facilitate searching and the establishment of an offsite back-up archive center for NSCB. The BLES also regularly archives its materials, with back-up copies centralized, but it currently has no offsite facility for its archives. The BAS maintains copies of its micro-data from its current regular and special surveys by the respective divisions in charge of the surveys, together with its Information and Communications Technology Division (ICTD). The ICTD is also in the process of working on improving its archive of past surveys and reports of the BAS. The BAS also uses the Information Technology Center for Agriculture and Fisheries at the DA Compound as its offsite back-up facility for its archives on reports. To date, no regular report has been submitted by the MSAs to the NSCB regarding their respective data archiving practices and their plans to improve these practices.

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CHAPTER 3

ISSUES ON THE PHILIPPINE STATISTICAL SYSTEM

Review and evaluation of organizations are undertaken to be able to learn from past mistakes; to help purge organizations of attributes that have become obsolete or undesirable; and to make them responsive to changes in their environment. After twenty years of existence governed by EO 121, the PSS underwent a review under NSCB Resolution No. 4 series of 2007. All statistical systems in the world operate under a dynamic social, cultural, economic and physical environment, especially with the many innovations in technology that have brought about a synergy between communications and computing, resulting in more data collected, stored, being accessible and distributed.

The global and local economies have been changing as a result of new mixes of products and services being offered. For a number of developing countries such as the Philippines, the phenomenal growth of the services sector, especially of the telecommunications industry, has undoubtedly had its impact on the PSS measurement of economic indicators.

It was noted in Chapter 1 that a review of the PSS was conducted in 1986 and the Review Committee then made several recommendations that brought about the current PSS as described in Chapter 2. In this chapter, the 2007 Special Committee to Review the PSS examines a number of issues and concerns that have hindered the PSS’s ability to function effectively and efficiently as envisioned in EO 121. Specifically, the Committee looks into the structure and linkages, resources, products and services as well as the data management, dissemination and archiving practices of the current PSS. These issues and concerns were previously identified by the Task Force on the Preparation of the Rationalization Plan for the PSS which was established in October 2004 and chaired by the SRTC Executive Director. The same issues were also mentioned to the 2007 Committee during the interviews with key informants, field visits to offices of the MSAs as well as focus group discussions with PSS stakeholders. These were supplemented by existing records and information provided by the MSAs or benchmarked from information on international best practices obtained from the websites of national statistical organizations abroad.

3.1 Issues on PSS Structure, Linkages and Legal Framework

As pointed out in the previous chapter, the current PSS is decentralized in nature, but the statistical organizations comprising the PSS are united with a common vision of generating reliable, relevant and accessible information for policy formulation and program implementation. Annex 7 shows that statistical systems widely recognized as among the best, including those of Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Sweden, are those that have centralized setups with advisory boards that provide these offices with a feedback mechanism. The United Nations Statistics Division, meanwhile, in its Handbook of Statistical Organization, states that

“Nowhere in the world has a country vested in a single institution the responsibility to collect all the official statistics of a nation. Rather, statistical

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systems exist on a continuum. At one end of the continuum stand those nations in which a single institution is responsible for most of the official statistics. Examples include Australia and Mexico. However, even on this end of the continuum, the collection of some official statistics is the responsibility of others. The country most representative of the other end of the continuum is probably the United States of America, which has numerous statistical agencies that are, for the most part, devoted to particular subject matters.”

In the case of the Philippines, the decentralized setup which allows the various departments to conduct their own data gathering activities in order to address specific department concerns and the numerous laws that govern the current PSS have spawned problems and barriers that may have hampered its growth. Moreover, the declining budgets for statistical operations primarily due to tight fiscal policies adopted by the government have further constrained the PSS, not only in terms of limiting the delivery of its products and services but more so of weakening its coordination functions due to lack of human resources.

3.1.1 Need for Structural Changes and Solid Legal Framework

A number of statistical systems across the world, including those of Australia and the Netherlands as well as India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia, have recently undergone further restructuring in order to make their statistical systems more responsive and meaningful. Thailand is in the process of further reviewing its statistical system. Similarly, in the Philippines, there is recognition that the current structure and linkages may need to be rationalized to make the PSS, particularly primary data production, more efficient and more responsive to the demands of the data users.

Twenty years have passed since the issuance of EO 121, and there is this concern that the progress and improvements made by the PSS have been far from satisfactory. The Committee attributed the inherent weaknesses of the PSS to the inadequacies of the legal frameworks that govern its statistical operations. As pointed out in the preceding chapter, the PSS is not drawn from a single Statistics Act but from a number of laws, some of which are no longer responsive to current situations.

In this regard, the Committee saw the dire need for a single piece of legislation, a Statistics Act that shall consolidate all relevant legal provisions on statistical matters as well as reorganize further the PSS, to achieve efficiency in statistical operations by consolidating the primary data collection activities under a single national agency (Statistics Philippines or STATPHIL); to improve responsiveness to current and emerging data needs for national and sub-national development planning; and to address the declining statistical human resource endowment of the PSS. The draft Statistics Act required as one of the major outputs of the Committee is made part of this Report as Annex 1.

The proposed STATPHIL shall be headed by a National Statistician (of under-secretary rank), who will report to the NEDA Director-General. A Statistics Policy Center (SPC), an autonomous body, shall serve as the governing board of STATPHIL. The National Statistician should be assisted by three Deputy National Statisticians (of assistant secretary rank), one for Statistics Production, one for

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Coordination and Standards and another for Civil Registration and Administrative Affairs. The Deputy for Statistics Production shall supervise two Assistant National Statisticians: for Macroeconomic Statistics and for Social and Agriculture Statistics. The second deputy shall handle operations for Planning and Standards as well as for Coordination with each of these operations being directed by Assistant National Statisticians. The third Deputy, who shall carry the title of Deputy Civil Registrar-General, shall supervise two Assistant National Statisticians: one for Civil Registration and another for Administrative Affairs. The former shall administer the Office for Civil Registration Operations, and the Office for Civil Registration Advocacy & Research; while the latter shall oversee the Office for Administrative Services and the Office for Financial Services.

The Assistant National Statistician for Macroeconomic Statistics shall oversee the Office for Industry, Trade and Services Statistics, the Office for National Accounts and the Office for Administrative Reporting Systems. The Assistant National Statistician for Social & Agriculture Statistics shall supervise the Office for Agriculture & Environment Statistics, and the Office for Socioeconomic & Demographic Statistics. The Assistant National Statistician for Planning and Standards shall manage the Office for Policies and Standards and the Office for Planning and International Affairs. The Assistant National Statistician for Coordination shall oversee the Offices for SPC Affairs and the directorates of the Regional Offices. The National Statistician shall supervise in-house services, including the Offices for Information and Dissemination Services, for Methodology and Analysis, for Legal Services, and for Internal Audit. Each of these staff offices of the STATPHIL shall be headed by a Director IV with at least one (1) Assistant Director and shall have such divisions as are necessary to carry out their respective functions, subject to review by the SPC.

Despite an assertion by the IMF ROSC Report2 that the PSS is sustained by generally strong legal frameworks, the only comprehensive law that governs the PSS is CA 591, some provisions of which are no longer suitable to the on-going social, cultural, economic, physical and environmental changes in the country and the rest of the world. Some contents of this law are already outdated and may require revisions. For instance, one of its provisions states that any person who fails or refuses to accomplish or respond to a survey questionnaire will be punished by a fine of not more than six hundred pesos or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by both. The same penalty also applies to data disclosure. Laws that provide for more stringent penalties for non-compliance of respondents, for not giving access to exclusive subdivisions/condominiums as well as for supplying confidential information that will allow the identification of respondents (whether households or establishments) in surveys and censuses are needed.

The PSS collects a wide range of very sensitive information from individuals and establishments and should be under a clear commitment that said information will be used for statistical purposes only and will not be disclosed. Both parts of the commitment (use and non-disclosure) should be clearly stated in the proposed Statistics Act, as these are necessary in order to get the trust and confidence of

2 Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF), Philippines: Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes – Data Module, Response by the Authorities, and Detailed Assessments Using Data Quality Assessment Framework, IMF Country Report No. 04/281, August 2004.

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individuals and establishments that supply information for statistical purposes. It should likewise contain provisions imposing more stringent penal provisions not only for non-compliance to survey responses but also for breach of confidentiality by parties collecting and having direct access to the data. The National Statistician and all the staff of STATPHIL shall be required to take a solemn oath to protect confidentiality of private information.

Furthermore, there is no law that protects the data users from the misuse and abuse of statistical theory, techniques and methodologies.

Under EO 121, almost all departments across the government bureaucracy are represented by at least an undersecretary rank in the NSCB. Such composition was originally meant to achieve strong coordination and linkages across the bureaucracy. However, as Annex 8 shows, at NSCB meetings, undersecretaries are routinely being represented by personnel of lower rank. The representation of these departments may even vary with each meeting and, thus, the representatives do not fully participate in the discussion during Board meetings. This leads to instability in the Board composition for such meetings, thereby weakening the functions of the NSCB. The large size of the NSCB membership makes it difficult to arrive at a quorum. The NSCB Secretary-General, who is a member of the NSCB, acted as Chair of the NSCB on two occasions as shown also in the same Annex. These were upon requests of and in the absence of the NEDA Director-General and in lieu of the undersecretary of the DBM who is supposed to be the NSCB Vice-Chair under the provisions of EO 121. For the period 1992 to 2007, it should also be noted that the DBM Undersecretary only attended one NSCB meeting, which may lead one to infer that the PSS is not a priority in the government expenditure program.

Another concern raised is that the NSCB Technical Staff is often equated as NSCB, leading its Technical Staff to craft a redundant term “Executive Board” for the NSCB.

The 2007 Special Committee noted these concerns about the NSCB and recommends the reorganization in the composition of the highest policymaking body on statistical matters in the country. The Committee recommends the abolition of the NSCB and, in its place, the setting up of a Statistics Policy Council (SPC), which shall be an autonomous body, promulgating policy and coordination on all statistical matters in the government, and whose decisions on statistical matters shall be final and executory for the entire PSS. It shall serve as the governing board of STATPHIL.

The SPC will consist of an appointive chair and four appointive members, all part-time, serving tenure of three years (without prejudice for reappointment). These persons are expected to be eminent statisticians, economists, social scientists, computer scientists, preferably Ph.Ds or with at least masters degrees, representing some indicative areas such as the following:

Agriculture, Environment, Industry, Trade, Finance, Infrastructure and Na-tional Accounts;

Population & Demography, Health, Education, Welfare, Labor, Employ-ment and other Socio-Economic Sectors;

Census and Survey Design, and Analysis;

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Theoretical Statistics; Statistical Modeling;

Statistical Information System and Information Technology.

In addition to the appointive chair and the four appointive members, the SPC will have two ex-officio members, the National Statistician, who heads STATPHIL, and the NEDA Deputy Director-General for National Development. To meet at least once a month, a majority of the five appointive members of the SPC may constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the SPC. The SPC shall convene a high-level consultative assembly of the major statistics users every six months. This assembly will be composed of the NEDA Director-General and the Secretaries of the following departments: DA, DOLE, DOH, DSWD, DEPED, CHED, DENR, DILG and DBM. A representative of the LGUs and the private sector will also be invited to this assembly. Such an assembly will serve as a forum for soliciting feedback from these data users regarding the relevance of statistics generated by STATPHIL, the coordination mechanisms in place and the emerging sectoral data requirements for effective policy and planning.

Concern was also raised on the poor implementation aspect of a number of resolutions issued by the NSCB due to limited resources. One concrete example is NSCB Resol-ution No. 11, series of 1997 - Adoption of Data Archiving Measures by the PSS. To date, the MSAs have not fully implemented their own data archiving system due to the high cost of the technology, coupled with the fact that practically all the MSAs do not own their buildings. The government should invest in infrastructure and techno-logy for the PSS to preserve and protect records of these data considering the high cost of generating the statistical data. Another example is the resolution on the official definition of the informal sector which has been identified several years ago as a data gap. To date, there has been no data collection yet of said sector because of lack of financial resources to undertake it. The first survey on the urban informal sector in 1995 was financed by the International Labour Office (ILO).

The Committee envisaged empowering the SPC to review the statistical programs of the departments and agencies of the national government as well as to review and clear, prior to release, the budget of STATPHIL and the Philippine Statistical Re-search and Training Institute (PSRTI) which is being proposed to take over the SRTC. The budget of STATPHIL may include data collection on emerging concerns, as in the case of statistics on the informal sector, while that of the latter includes data man-agement and archiving. Further, if the statistics are deemed critical for social and eco-nomic planning, hence covered under the Philippine Designated Statistics (PDS), such should be assured of guaranteed budget appropriations.

Two of the MSAs, the BLES and BAS, are both staff bureaus but differ in their operations. The BAS, which generates primary and secondary data on agriculture and fisheries, is likewise tasked by the DA Secretary to provide information for monitoring agricultural programs and to do in-depth analysis of agricultural data. As a staff bureau of the DA, field operations of the BAS are undertaken by its staff posted at their operations centers across all provinces whose plantilla items are attached to the BAS central office. Their limited budget allocation for full-scale statistical operations, however, has affected the quality, range and depth of their statistical products.

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Some data users of the country’s agricultural information system have pointed out discrepancies between data produced by the BAS and other data sources. The provincial agricultural officers (PAOs) and municipal agricultural officers (MAOs), who are under the supervision of the LGUs, have agricultural reports that often contain a number of discrepancies with BAS figures from its surveys. The BAS addresses these through a data validation system at the provincial, regional and national levels, with the PAOs and MAOs in attendance in these data validation meetings. The BAS has occasionally responded to more data requests, especially at the small areas, when additional resources are available. For instance, the BAS implemented a Barangay Screening Survey (BSS) which involves a census of key informants from the barangays, initially at a province by province basis. The aggregated results of the BSS at the regional level, however, have not been comparable with other sources such as the CAF of the NSO and even sample surveys of the BAS. While the BAS attempts to generate reliable sampling frames for its agricultural surveys from lists of agricultural households and establishments in the CAF as well as other lists of agricultural establishments, the updating of these frames is irregularly done. The responsibility of generating fishery statistics may have been transferred to the BAS from the Bureau of Fishery and Aquatic Resources, but the commensurate financial and other resources to undertake this primary data collection task in fishery statistics has not been provided directly to the BAS.

The BLES, which produces a number of labor and employment statistics, including analysis of results of some surveys conducted by the NSO, has no counterpart unit in the DOLE regional offices but has counterpart staff (Statistician or Economist positions) who supervises its field operations for primary data collection which include the hiring and training of enumerators. For its sampling frame, the BLES initially adopts the listing of establishments of the NSO but updates it from the list of establishment closures provided by the various DOLE Regional Offices, respondents from previous surveys and other listings such as those from the DTI. Seen from a system-wide perspective, this represents inefficiency as two agencies are updating separate sampling frames that are both costly undertakings.

The Committee recommendation to consolidate primary data collection activities under a single national agency, STATPHIL, would address the limitations in the current structure and linkages, particularly primary data production, across the MSAs. The proposed STATPHIL should be constituted from among the existing personnel of the MSAs engaged in primary data collection and compilation of secondary data, namely the NSO, the Technical Staff of the NSCB, the BAS, and the BLES. This integration of systems and personnel involved in primary data collection and compilation of national accounts at STATPHIL will hopefully address identified data gaps and weaknesses in basic data in a more timely fashion. The DA and DOLE, however, should retain a core staff for the BAS and BLES, respectively, to serve their requirements for analysis of sectoral statistics. The functions of BAS and BLES will have to be reoriented toward analysis of primary data collected by STATPHIL (beyond first level analysis) on their areas of concern as well as analysis of administrative-based records in support of the requirements of their respective departments. The Department of Economic Statistics of the BSP should continue to take charge of statistics on banking and financial statistics, including Balance of Payments and flow of funds, although it may consider, in due time, transferring their primary data collection to STATPHIL, as may be allowed by the central banking law.

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The most basic omission of EO 121, however, was the lack of a framework for sub-national statistics. The data requirements for empowered LGUs under the Local Government Code passed in 1991 were not foreseen by EO 121. Neither was EO 135 of 1993, which provided for the establishment of a well-coordinated local level statistical system, able to remedy this omission. As a result, the 2007 Special Committee to Review the PSS decided to devote a full chapter on the discussion of sub-national statistics (cf. Chapter 4).

In order to carry out EO 135, the NSCB Technical Staff tried to establish regional units. However, as stated in previous chapters, the NSCB is only present in Regions 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

The Committee recommends that LGUs and all departments of national government be highly encouraged to establish statistics units. In the short-term, these LGUs should be provided technical assistance by the proposed STATPHIL and the PSRTI to build capacities for generating comparable and sustainable statistics as well as analyzing these statistics. Manuals for data collection for the LGUs and for specific sectors should be developed as part of this technical assistance to include proposed data items to be collected, appropriate sample size and sampling methodologies for surveys, human resource and financial requirements, and utilization plans for these statistics. The Chiefs of the LGU statistical units shall comply with the reporting/monitoring requirements imposed by the STATPHIL division heads of the provincial/highly urbanized cities’ statistical offices. In turn, local chief executives may also designate someone in each barangay to be responsible for data collection required to update a minimum set of statistics and indicators. Meanwhile, a committed fund for data collection activities, similar to those in Statistics Canada, should be established that will ensure sustained funding sources for statistics required by the LGUs. One possible source that should be studied further is the internal revenue allotments (IRAs).

A significant issue that arose during the Committee’s deliberations was the treatment of civil registration. A number of key informants and stakeholders have observed that the civil registration operations of the NSO have taken its focus away from the improvement of statistics programs. RA No. 3753 – Law on Registry of Civil Status - prohibits the NSO Administrator from delegating her visitorial duties as Civil Registrar-General which therefore requires her to visit the numerous local civil registrars nationwide. It must be noted, however, that civil registration actually does not figure prominently in the organizational structures of many national statistics offices overseas. The Philippines is one of a few countries, if not the only country, that had made its national statistics office take full responsibility for its civil registration system, with the NSO Administrator as ex-officio Civil Registrar-General. In many countries, the responsibility of civil registration resides with the LGUs but these LGUs provide the national statistics office with their databases since the indicators from vital events validate demographic statistics generated from a population census. It must be mentioned, however, that the computerization of the civil registration system database which was undertaken as a Build-Operate-Transfer arrangement with the private sector has made the NSO the eleventh biggest revenue-generating government office in the country in 2006. The amount of revenues cannot therefore be ignored in the light of limited resources allocated to statistical operations.

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In cognizance of this reality, the Special Committee agreed that civil registration shall be retained at STATPHIL but that the National Statistician should be made a ceremonial Civil Registrar-General. The administrative function of civil registration shall be under the responsibility of a Deputy Civil Registrar-General who shall supervise an Assistant Civil Registrar-General and an Assistant National Statistician for Administrative Affairs (both with salary grade 28).

In a system where two heads of statistical offices – one a coordinating body and tasked to liaise for international matters and another producing about two thirds of the PSS total statistical production – have equal rank as undersecretary, there is bound to be confusion both in the international and local communities, especially on occasions for official country representation in international meetings and conferences that require a single representation.

Under the proposed reorganization of the PSS, the head of STATPHIL, the National Statistician, shall be considered the country’s foremost authority on statistical matters.

Some of the key informants opined that the statistical operations of the NSO and the NSCB Technical Staff may not have been properly identified. There were activities done by one, which the other party perceived to be their expertise, and vice-versa. In other words, both agencies deemed that boundaries are not well defined when discussing agency mandate, creating undue strain on inter-agency linkages or confusion, which ultimately affects cooperation during joint activities. Such sentiments are also evident when staffs avail of local and international scholarships/training programs.

As was pointed out earlier, primary data collection activities are proposed to be under STATPHIL, with the SPC as its governing board. The SPC shall be expected to promulgate policy and coordination on all statistical matters in the government. Further to information cited above on the expected role of the SPC, it ought to review and provide certification on the quality of designated statistics. As the governing board of STATPHIL, the SPC should also review the budget of STATPHIL.

The envisaged integration of NSO, NSCB, BAS and BLES is expected to improve overall coordination; responsiveness, reliability, relevance and timeliness of information; and most importantly, attain efficiency by lowering maintenance cost for field offices while maintaining the current level of human resources of the MSAs. Such improved efficiency is envisaged to accelerate responsiveness to sectoral and LGU needs for statistics.

This proposed reorganization of the MSAs entails legislation. Details on the proposed reorganization are found in the draft Statistics Act which also contains provisions regarding more stringent penal provisions not only for non-compliance for survey responses but also for breach of confidentiality by parties collecting and having direct access to the data. It also provides for a requirement for the National Statistician and all staff of STATPHIL to take a solemn oath regarding their duty to protect confidentiality of information.

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3.1.2 Functional Integration (and Linkages) through Coordination

A statistical coordination framework provides for linkages among data producers, data users, training, education and research institutions as well as executive and legislative offices within the government to enable outcomes of various data collection activities to be meaningfully related, with concepts, definitions, methodologies and classifications harmonized and statistical standards developed.

EO 121 envisioned the PSS, even while remaining decentralized, to achieve a strong coordination feature through closer linkage between statistical programming and budgeting. This vision is reflected in the inter-department composition of the NSCB and with the DBM Undersecretary serving as Vice-Chair. Through the NSCB, a mechanism is in place for both horizontal coordination with the various statistical organizations within the national government and vertical coordination with the local statistical systems (by virtue of EO 135). There are several mechanisms for statistical coordination listed in Chapter 2 and the authority of the NSCB to mobilize budgetary resources to meet broad statistical priorities is explicitly provided in Sec.5 (f) to (h) and Sec. 20 of the said EO.

There are two schools of thought in viewing the extent of the role of the NSCB in budget coordination. One view is the strict provision of EO 121 Section 5, paragraphs (g) and (h) and EO 121 Section 20, i.e., reviewing the budgets of statistical activities, which is being currently done by the NSCB through its Technical Staff. The NSCB Secretary-General maintains that the budget coordination function of the NSCB does not include fundraising for the PSS members. Rather, it is the responsibility of the agency heads as part of their management function to look for funds for their activities. Heads of other statistical agencies, on the other hand, expect the NSCB and its Technical Staff to make representations with government and even with external donors for improved statistical budgets. These heads mentioned that there has been no communication from the NSCB on possible avenues for external sources of funds. Moreover, they noted that they are left on their own to make representations with legislators for budgetary support, undertake mutually beneficial projects with other government agencies willing to share their resources, and do the best with what they can obtain from Congress and the DBM. They likewise expected the NSCB to support the conduct of designated statistical activities by pro-actively making representations with the DBM for their budgetary requirements. The specific activities of concern are the National Nutrition Survey (NNS), the quarterly Labor Force Survey (LFS) and the Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS). These activities were either not conducted on time due to lack of budgetary allocation or as in the case of the LFS, were provided only budgetary support for two or three of the regular four quarterly rounds.

The 2007 Special Committee to Review the PSS recommends that there should be guaranteed appropriations for budgets of primary data collection and other activities for designated statistics, subject to oversight of the proposed SPC and Congress, with post-audit by the Commission on Audit. A multi-year budgeting framework for statistical activities including censuses and regular surveys shall be formulated and implemented. Meanwhile, the National Statistician shall be the primary champion to represent the PSS with the executive and legislative branches on budgetary allocations for statistics generation, especially those covered by the Philippine Designated

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Statistics. Further, closer coordination must be effected among PSS national agencies in the sourcing of funds from the donor community, both local and foreign.

The uneven development of sectoral statistics, specifically those produced as a by-product of administrative processes, may be partly due to the need for improved coordination, especially on the use of statistical standards. The IMF ROSC Report found that gaps in the compilation of import data, by the Bureau of Customs and the NSO, highlight the urgent need for close and more frequent collaboration, stressing the need for more collaborative arrangements to correct compilation problems. It must be mentioned though, that at the time of this review, this problem is already being addressed. A number of national government agencies engaged in the generation of sectoral statistics mostly from administrative records, such as the DOH, DEPED and the CHED, to name a few, are having problems in improving their statistical information systems, partly for lack of guidelines and standards for data collection. This has resulted, for example, in the case of the DOH, in publishing internally generated statistics from administrative records even if there are questions about their accuracy. Furthermore, the data flow of the Health Information System often begins at the level of the barangay health service providers who are also tasked with recording the health statistics in several forms/reports, and then proceeds to the municipalities, cities and provinces for consolidation of information. Disconnected data systems are typically developed.

EO 121 tasks the NSCB to prescribe uniform standards and classification systems in government. Further, the EO enjoins all government agencies to adopt these prescribed standards, including standard concepts and definitions, techniques, procedures and classifications. However, such standards, especially for administrative reporting systems, are deficient. Concerns have been raised about the lack of a scheme to monitor adherence to prevailing standards developed by the NSCB and the absence of mechanisms for addressing needs for technical assistance.

As previously mentioned, the proposed SPC is expected to formulate policies on all matters relating to government statistical operations, standards, classifications, and coordination. It shall review the statistical programs of the departments and agencies of the national government, and the LGUs and confer with and advise them on mat-ters relating to such statistical programs.

Moreover, STATPHIL should develop and maintain appropriate frameworks and standards for the collection, processing, analysis and dissemination of data, and coor-dinate with government departments and LGUs on the promotion and adoption of sta-tistical standards involving techniques, methodologies, concepts, definitions and clas-sifications; and on the avoidance of duplication in the collection of the statistical in-formation.

National and local government institutions, including government controlled corporations, may continue to generate special sectoral statistics consistent with their mandated tasks, under the guidance of a competent statistical officer duly certified by the proposed PSRTI. The executing agency should submit to STATPHIL the resultant statistical reports and to the PSRTI the resulting databases of microdata to be archived.

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Data producers and users are currently given regular fora to interact, including IAC and TC meetings. As was pointed out in the previous chapter, the NSCB, in accordance with Section 8 of EO 121, has six TCs, eleven IACs and five TFs as of December 2007 to assist it in the exercise of its functions, especially in achieving its intended goal of effective coordination. However, the distinction among IACs, TCs and TFs is not clear to some major stakeholders. While membership in a TC is supposed to be a result of individual expertise, some TCs have mixed compositions of individual experts and institutional representation.

The actual activities and regularity of meetings of these committees are often personality-oriented, i.e., dependent on the chairperson of the committee. Some of these committees have been meeting regularly (at the most, 4 times a year for some TCs and TFs in 2007) while others have not. Some of them have not even met for the past two years. Poor attendance and the lack of expertise among its members are consistent problems. Moreover, there is no existing TC on the System of National Accounts that would have provided a system of checks and balances to the work being done by the NSCB Technical Staff.

In some instances, these committees’ recommendations to the NSCB have been contested by the NSCB Technical Staff during the NSCB meetings rather than raised and discussed within the committee meetings. Mechanisms for reviewing the PSDP, including identification of gaps in coverage, need improvement.

The 2007 Special Committee to Review the PSS recognized the importance of TCs, IACs and working groups in dealing with technical issues and problems on statistical matters. It therefore recommends that SPC retain the function of the NSCB to establish TCs, IACs and working groups to assist the SPC in the exercise of its function. The SPC may direct the STATPHIL and the PSRTI to conduct and/or coordinate research, training and related activities through these committees for resolving technical issues and disseminating statistical matters.

A set of guidelines should be drawn up by the SPC regarding the establishment and dissolution of these committees. The terms of reference of the committees and the secretariat should be defined and regularly reviewed. Its composition and work programs should also be regularly reviewed by the SPC.

The Committee took note that it has been the intent of EO 135 to achieve coordination at the sub-national level by providing that all statistical activities of the LGUs be planned and implemented in coordination with the RSCCs. The NSCB was directed to establish its Regional Statistical Coordination Units (RSCUs) in all regions to serve as the secretariat of the RSCC (Sec. 2 (b)). However, due to budgetary constraints, the NSCB was able to establish only ten RSCUs nationwide. Of serious concern also is the effective capability of the RSCU head to effect statistical coordination, considering that these regional units are often headed by a Statistical Coordination Officer (SCO) V or SCO IV rank, which is equivalent to Statistician IV or III, respectively, in other MSAs, This is much lower in rank to the Regional Directors of the NSO and other representatives of the PSS within the RSCCs. In addition, these regional units of the NSCB Technical Staff usually have a staff of only about five personnel as contrasted with the NSO Regional Office’s 70-strong personnel, including provincial staff.

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The suggested reorganization of the MSAs should be able to address this issue with effective mechanisms for vertical and horizontal coordination in place within the proposed STATPHIL that will ensure responsiveness to current emerging sectoral data requirements for effective policy and planning.

3.1.3 Research and Training

EO 121 had noted then that the quality of statistical services is affected by the limited number of qualified statistical workers. As such, there was a need to ensure the development and maintenance of high-level statistical human resources in government. Henceforth, the SRTC was established under EO 121.

While the SRTC, over the years, has established many strategic collaborations and partnerships with the academe, statistical agencies, other government agencies, professional associations, and other private groups and individuals, the SRTC has not managed to attract personnel with PhD qualifications. The SRTC has not had research fellows or training fellows. Only six out of the eighty-three conducted researches were in-house studies done without funding support. Only an insignificant number of the 654 training courses conducted up to 2007 were taught by SRTC staff. Such high dependence on technical support from external service providers is not healthy since nothing prevents its current training clients from directly tapping these SRTC resource persons for the conduct of their own training programs.

The 2007 Special Committee to Review the PSS viewed with concern the inability of the SRTC to attract personnel with the necessary educational qualifications and stature that will enable it to effectively perform its mandate as envisioned in EO 121. Thus, it recommends strengthening the PSS research and training arm to address increasing requirements for statistical training and research as well as to meet emerging needs for a national repository and archive for statistics produced by national and local governments. The SRTC is, therefore, planned to be upgraded into the PSRTI with the SPC as its Governing Board. It shall have its in-house research and training fellows, following the model of the PIDS and the UN Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP). The PSRTI shall become a non-stock, non-profit government corporation attached to the NEDA for policy coordination.

Because of the establishment of the SRTC, the NSO could not set up a research and analysis unit to conduct its own methodological studies. It is important for a data collection agency, however, to have its own methodology and analysis section in order to improve the efficiency of its primary data collection activities and other operations.

To address this concern, the Committee includes a provision in the draft Statistics Act regarding the delineation of functions between PSRTI and STATPHIL with regard to methodological researches. The STATPHIL will have its own Office for Methodology and Analysis to undertake researches to develop first-level analysis or improve the efficiency of primary data collection. The PSRTI researches should pertain more to advanced analysis of results of STATPHIL’s statistical activities as well as methodological and applied researches in emerging statistical concerns in various sectors such as in education, health, and science and technology, among others.

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A number of SRTC training programs are conducted in the regions especially for regional line agencies and some LGUs under the customized training program. However, the conduct of these training programs is based on demand and is not part of the SRTC’s regular program. For example, from 2002 to 2005, Region VII benefited the most from regional training programs resulting from a World Bank-supported Project on Statistical Capacity Building in the Rural Sector. Discounting the conduct of this Project, there is disparity in the number of SRTC training programs conducted across regions. In the period 2002 to 2005, the last training program conducted in Region III (Central Luzon) was in 2002. Region XI (Southern Mindanao) and ARMM have not had any training program during the period 2002 to 2005. Thus, only regions with available funds can benefit from the SRTC training programs. Some efforts have been made to pilot the conduct of Statistical Human Resource Development in the regions and to develop a Training Program on Improving Tourism Statistics at the Local Level, but sustaining and multiplying these efforts have remained a challenge for the SRTC.

The SRTC has already accelerated the setting up of training programs across the regions through the identification of regional training affiliates that include academic, training or research institutions, both public and private. The Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) and the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) were the partners for this endeavor with their wide network of higher educational institutions (HEIs). The PASUC and COCOPEA identified universities and colleges that are likely to express interest in being SRTC regional training affiliates. The SRTC appointed staff to coordinate the conduct of training programs with such regional training affiliates. After the conduct of a Training of Trainors, the SRTC regional training with the HEIs contributed significantly to the total number of training programs conducted in 2007.

It is envisioned that regular statistical training programs are to be developed by PSRTI in consultation with STATPHIL. Customized training programs are also to be conducted by PSRTI for other statistical training clients in the national and local governments, the private sector and the international community based on demand.

Human resource development plans for increasing statistical competencies across the PSS are often very general and do not involve career path plans for each staff. Many of the NSO in-house training sessions, e.g., Group A training, would need to be replicated not only for the NSO but across all MSAs engaged in primary data collection. While some graduate scholarship opportunities have been in place for MSAs through the Re-engineering the Philippine Statistical Services Phase II Project, some slots for these scholarships remain unfilled and only two persons (out of the 15 supported staff) have finished their graduate program requirements. This is due to their being in academic programs not suited to their academic backgrounds and agencies’ needs.

In order to enhance the quality of statistical personnel, the Committee recommends the institutionalization of a certification system as entry requirement for an appointment to a statistical position in government. The PSRTI should develop a certification system for statistical personnel. This system could consist of the

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issuance of a Certification of Basic Statistical Competence to individuals who meet any one of the following:

Have an undergraduate or graduate degree in Statistics from a higher-edu-cational institution duly recognized by the Commission on Higher Educa-tion (CHED) or equivalent international higher-educational institutions;

Have at least 90 hours of training on sampling, descriptive statistics, and statistical inference conducted by the PSRTI or equivalent international statistical training institutes, duly-recognized academic centers of excel-lence or centers of development in statistics;

Have passed PSRTI comprehensive examinations on sampling, descriptive statistics and statistical inference.

In sum, the 2007 Special Committee to Review the PSS considers it important for the research and training arm of the PSS to be strengthened. The proposed PSRTI should have in-house research and training fellows, following the model of the PIDS and the UN SIAP. In addition, the PSRTI should have institutional linkages with STATPHIL, which may be partly addressed with the SPC being a governing board for both institutions. All SRTC equipment and furnishings should be transferred to the PSRTI upon abolition of the former. The PSRTI should be considered a non-stock, non-profit government corporation attached to NEDA for purposes of policy coordination.

3.1.4 Others

Tenures of Heads of Major Statistical Agencies

All heads and major officials of the MSAs are career service executive staff, and thus have permanent tenure. In the past, their selection involved consultations with the academe and the Philippine Statistical Association (PSA), but this practice has been discontinued. While it is good to have fixed tenures, it is appropriate to have regular evaluations for possible reappointment because staying long in a position, especially for the heads of the MSAs, may lead to stagnation of some statistical programs as officials tend to lose their critical perspective over time and may resort to defending their turf.

The 2007 Special Committee to Review the PSS recommends that all major positions in the reorganized PSS should have fixed terms of office. The appointive chair and four members of the SPC, all part-time, shall be serving a tenure of three years (without prejudice for reappointment). They will be appointed by the President of the Philippines from among a list of nominees submitted by a Search Committee composed of representatives of the Philippine Statistical Association (PSA), the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) School of Statistics, the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) Institute of Statistics, the Department of Economic Statistics of BSP and NEDA. In case of a vacancy in the appointive membership of the SPC, the successor who shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines and nominated by the remaining SPC members, shall serve only the unexpired term; provided, that if the remaining SPC members do not constitute a majority, the appointment shall be done by the President of the Philippines from a list of nominees provided by the Search Committee.

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The 2007 Special Committee to Review the PSS further recommends that the National Statistician should serve a fixed term of five years, renewable once. Upon completion of his/her term, he/she shall enjoy twice the benefits provided for by laws on compulsory retirement. The National Statistician and the Deputy National Statisticians shall also be appointed by the President of the Philippines from a list of nominees provided by the proposed Search Committee.

Heads of MSAs have varying relationships with their superiors, i.e., Department Secretaries, as well as their peers. Department secretaries serve at the pleasure of the President and their respective interests and priorities vary. Consequently, allocation of requisite resources for statistical activities within a Department is not guaranteed. Some of these Department secretaries may not know enough about the MSAs and may demand more from these agencies than what their mandates allow. MSAs tend to compete for resources and while heads of the MSAs meet on formal occasions, especially in NSCB meetings to discuss such and other matters affecting the PSS, there is a growing sense among many heads of the MSAs that the coordination and cooperation among them needs to be significantly improved.

The Committee expects that the proposed restructuring will improve coordination.

Feedback Mechanisms

Feedback mechanisms for PSS stakeholders are clearly in place. However, data users, especially in the regions, mentioned during the Committee interviews and FGDs that they are not getting responses to their inputs and feedback, and even on their data requests. Some PSS clients even suggested that they have refrained from criticizing the statistical outputs of MSAs for fear that the client access to data might be jeopardized. However, this contention has not been documented.

The proposed SPC should be able to act on feedbacks received from stakeholders especially on issues concerning integrity of statistical outputs of the PSS and to promote transparency and independence of the PSS. The SPC is also tasked to conduct a regular high-level forum with major statistics users in government and the private sector to ensure that statistics produced by STATPHIL are meaningful, that coordination mechanisms are effective and that STATPHIL remains responsive to emerging sectoral statistics needs.

The Committee foresees regular consultations with the public and private sectors, to be spearheaded by STATPHIL and PSRTI, to improve the usefulness of statistics, with information on the planned changes in the concepts and methodologies including revision policies. Discussions should focus on methodological issues such as coverage, consistency or accuracy of different sources of data aside from the issue on the appropriateness or inappropriateness of particular statistics to evaluate specific policy concerns, e.g., indicators for measuring or tracking progress of the MDGs.

3.2 Issues on PSS Resources

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The national statistical program is evidently influenced by the set of resources made available to a statistical system for its operations. This section looks at various issues on the resources for the PSS, namely, budget/funding, external agencies (multi-lateral and donor) as source of funds, human resources, leadership succession, career system for statisticians and infrastructure.

3.2.1 Fund adequacy and continuity

The underlying issue on the PSS budget is the lack of resources for its priority activi-ties and projects. The budget levels across various departments and agencies within the executive branch are dependent on the government’s macroeconomic and fiscal assumptions and projected revenues. These budgets are approved by the Development Budget Coordination Committee. All government agencies, including the MSAs, have to submit budgets to their respective departments within the latter’s respective budget ceilings. Within the departments concerned, all agencies have to compete for resources, taking into consideration department priorities.

Difficulty in obtaining funds for designated statistics and regular operations

While EO 252 provides for the designation of priority statistics to be generated by the PSS, it does not, however, guarantee support for the activities required for these designated statistics. The NSCB Technical Staff undertakes a review of the budget for statistical activities and submits an integrated budget for the PSS to the DBM, utilizing the System of Designated Statistics, Planning and Budgetary Thrusts for Statistical Activities issued by the NSCB and the PSDP as guides for the review. Often, the budget ceiling provided is maintained. In case additional budgets over and above the ceiling provided are proposed by an agency, the concerned agency is required to justify the conduct of the activity. Likewise, at the legislative deliberations, the concerned agencies have to justify their budgets without any support from the NSCB Technical Staff. Agency heads attend the hearings conducted in relation to their performance, activities and budget proposals and make representation in case additional allocations are needed for a statistical activity.

Activities that are not done periodically, i.e., decennial censuses, are categorized as locally funded projects in the budget. An agency with a locally funded project is required to submit a detailed timetable of activities for its conduct. This serves as input to the cash program and agency budget matrix to be prepared by the DBM. The fund releases depend on the cash program and other submissions required from the agency. Majority, if not all, of the surveys that are done periodically are identified in the SDS. The expenditures required to conduct these surveys are not sufficiently provided for in the agency’s fund allocation. Some of the censuses and surveys that have to be conducted in stated years are not undertaken on time because of the budgetary ceilings imposed in the budget preparation process (e.g, 2002 CAF) and arbitrary decisions by major legislative (e.g, 1991 CAF) and executive decision-makers to cut or reduce the proposed budget for said activity (e.g, the 2005 Mid-decade Census of Population).

Once the President approves the budget, another issue is on the release of funds. Government rules and regulations allow for the monthly release of the budget for mandatory expenses, i.e., personnel services (PS) and regular MOOE. However, in

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practice, the allocation provided in the monthly release for PS and MOOE is insufficient. Thus, an agency has to request DBM for additional budget release and provide the justification for the additional funds requested. Agencies have to manage the funds made available to ensure payment of salaries, settling of operating expenses and in cases of data collection, provision of remuneration for hired personnel and procurement of data processing equipment for processing the data collected from survey or census returns. There is currently no single authority that makes appropriate representations for the release of the statistics budgets especially related to the SDS.

As was pointed out in the previous chapter, the statistical agencies engage in various initiatives to find additional sources of funds in support of the SDS. The conduct of primary data collection activities to respond to demands within particular departments has ensured resources for the operations, but these MSAs have to keep requesting agencies within their departments for the necessary funds. While this arrangement has allowed the conduct of some capability-building activities and upgrading of equipment, as in the case of the BAS, the resources for primary data collection, especially those identified in the SDS, are typically sourced from spare resources within the department.

To conduct the range of statistics required by planners and program implementers, primary data collection would require a bigger allocation of resources. An estimate of the budget for designated statistics from 2009 to 2013 (Table 3.1) shows that the amount allocated to existing activities is only a portion of the required resources. For example, prior to the conduct of the CPBI in 2007, there was no allocation for an Updating of Listing of Business Registers, which is the sampling frame for the undertaking. Further, multi-year resource allocation, i.e., two years before and three years after a census year, is required for the large operations involved in the CPH, which is the only source of data for statistics down to the barangay level. A conservative estimate of a five-fold increase in the sample size for household surveys is needed to provide precise estimates at the provincial level. Inadequate resources are often seen as the cause for the inability of the agencies engaged in primary data collection to respond to users’ requirements and criticisms from within and outside the PSS.

The Committee recommends that the proposed SPC should identify the Philippine Designated Statistics (PDS), a core set of priority statistics required for social and economic planning/analysis statistics. The SPC should also issue the rules and regulations for the implementation of the PDS, including the types, scope, coverage and dissemination of these statistics, and the activities entailed for producing these statistics. Primary data collection activities for generating the PDS should be either implemented or outsourced by STATPHIL. There should be guaranteed appropriations for budgets of primary data collection and other activities for designated statistics, subject to oversight by the SPC and Congress postaudit by the Commission on Audit. The PDS should be deemed official and made available to the public according to a statistical calendar and subjected to various modes of information dissemination. The SPC ought to periodically review the relevance of the PDS to the requirements of national development vis-a-vis the MTPDP and should issue modifications/ revisions to the PDS as warranted. The National Statistician should be the single authority to represent the PSS with the executive and legislative

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branches on the requirements and processes implemented to collect statistics, especially the designated statistics. A multi-year budgeting for statistical activities like the census should be implemented.

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While an indicative financial plan for the collection of the designated statistics is included in the PSDP to guide the fund managers in government, a more active representation from the PSS is recommended. The processes and expected outputs of the activities could be expressed both at the executive and legislative levels to ensure the adequate and timely appropriation of funds for data collection.

The presentation of multi-year budgets is a must to ensure continuity of the statistical activities. It is also suggested that a possible source of funds could be the earnings from the issuance of the civil registration certificates through a provision in the General Appropriation Act and contributions from LGUs through their internal revenue allocation.

Inability to apportion funds for research and development

Under EO 121, the SRTC was provided with an initial P7 million endowment fund from government appropriations. This was augmented by P3 million in 1989 and by another P3 million in 1998. The income from the SRTC Endowment Fund as well as funds from the General Appropriations has been used for the conduct of training, provision of research grants and improvement of its facilities. Since 1998, though, the SRTC Endowment Fund has not been augmented until only in 2005 when an additional P10 million from government appropriations was given. In 2006, an additional P10 million was again provided by the government to the endowment fund. A provision in the 2007 budget provides for the annual augmentation of P20 million for the next three years. Thus, by 2009, the SRTC’s Endowment Fund is expected to reach P93 million. The augmentation of the SRTC’s Endowment Fund came about with the representation of SRTC’s Executive Director in the executive and legislative branches. The augmentation, however, was worked out with the DBM under the assumption that the SRTC will be independent of the General Appropriations from the national government after a period of time but will continue to pursue its advocacy in statistical research and statistical training from the national to the community level. The expectation of the DBM is that when the Endowment Fund has reached a certain level, the interest earnings of the Endowment Fund will be sufficient for SRTC operations, i.e., SRTC will no longer have to be dependent on General Appropriations. However, even after 2009 (taking into account the current low interest rates), the interest earnings from the Endowment Fund will not be adequate for the SRTC to carry out all its functions, including the undertaking of research on statistical concepts, definitions and methods, and the conduct of non-degree training programs.

The SRTC has been funding only a limited number of researches from its Endowment Fund in the recent past. From 2000 to the present, the SRTC only provided resources for four researches since the earnings from the Endowment Fund were used to augment the Center’s operational expenses and to begin the regional training sessions conducted with collaborating higher educational institutions. From 1987 to 2007, only 7 of the 83 research projects of the SRTC were published. While the SRTC has a research agenda approved by the NSCB, the topics in the agenda remain as a wish list given the limited resources.

Concern was also expressed on the relevance of the research outputs of the SRTC to the needs of statistical policy formulation and applications to data production and

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analyses. This, however, is due to the meager resources at SRTC’s disposal. It was concluded that to be responsive to the PSS research and training requirements, the SRTC will need very substantial injections of more resources, particularly technical human resources.

Given the resources available to the SRTC, the pace at which research on statistical concepts, definitions and methods was conducted has not caught up with the requirements for the generation of accurate and reliable statistics. The accomplishments of the SRTC are also not currently evaluated vis-à-vis the overall directions of the PSS and their impact on the data generation process.

Of the 83 research projects reported completed by the SRTC, almost half were conducted with financial support from other statistical agencies and data producers in the national government. Some of the financial transfers were made only after realizing savings following the completion of statistical operations in these funding agencies. These agencies found it easier to transfer funds to a government institution like SRTC than to contract private agencies and individuals to undertake these researches. While the output of the research project is supposed to add new knowledge in the PSS, most of these researches, however, have been more an extension of statistics operations as they are also chiefly undertaken by a team from the donor agency and the results of these researches do not even get published in the local peer-refereed journal.

The conduct of research to improve statistical methods identified through the TCs and IACs likewise remains unaccomplished due to the lack of resources to undertake it. Hence, some of the decisions arrived at during TC and IAC meetings are based on the processing of existing data files instead of doing actual field experiments. For instance, the latter would be particularly relevant when comparing different data collection schemes to achieve more accurate responses. The BAS, BLES, and NSO have identified possible researches to support developmental and methodological directions included in their strategic plans with the view that those involved in the operations can better undertake studies to improve these. However, many of these identified research activities remain on paper. For researches undertaken, experts’ guidance and review are sometimes postponed until funds for consultants’ fee and expenses to mount discussion fora could be set aside from existing project funds. The stringent budgeting process does not allow the allotment of independent funds for research and development within the MSAs, except for the SRTC.

A more in-depth assessment of the contribution of the SRTC to research and development vis-à-vis its contribution to the improvement of the PSS was suggested during the consultations. The outputs could be used as basis to have more funds allotted for research and development. Since the SRTC has limited personnel resources in terms of numbers and capacity to undertake research, collaboration with the academe and outright grants to universities and the private sector could be explored. It was also recommended that the SRTC Endowment Fund be increased greatly to support the research and training activities for the PSS.

The Committee recommends that the proposed PSRTI be provided a sufficient endowment fund and a proper staffing pattern. Research and development in the PSS should be strengthened. STATPHIL should have its own Office for Methodology and

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Analysis to support its data production. A five-year statistical research program should be jointly developed by PSRTI and STATPHIL, with the program being updated annually. The program is to be developed upon consultation with statistics producers and users in the national government aside from STATPHIL, the local government units, the academic community and other stakeholders of statistics and statistical research. Researches that seek to undertake first-level analysis or improve the efficiency of primary data collection activities and other operations of STATPHIL should be undertaken by STATPHIL’s Methodology and Analysis Office. PSRTI researches should pertain to more advanced analysis of results of STATPHIL statistical activities as well as to methodological and applied researches in emerging statistical concerns in various sectors such as education, health, science and technology, among others.

Statistics research is inevitably tied to the technical capacity of human resources within the PSS. The issue on capability building of the staff will be taken up in the succeeding sections.

3.2.2 Collaboration with Donor Agencies

To improve sector-specific statistics or to engage in data collection for emerging issues, some agencies within the PSS, i.e., NSO, NSCB, and BLES have tapped assistance from multilateral and donor agencies while others like the BSP and BAS have funded field testing of innovative means of data collection.

Likewise, multilateral and donor agencies have asked statistical agencies to undertake primary data collection to gauge the achievement of their program goals. While many of the donor-assisted surveys are attuned to the conduct of the SDS, some of these surveys have undergone changes in their survey and questionnaire designs to accommodate the needs of the donor agencies.

The PSS has been collaborating with donor agencies to support its activities. NSCB Technical Staff has managed to obtain support for some developmental studies while other MSAs expect the NSCB Technical Staff to improve its coordination responsibilities with them. There is currently no consolidated effort within the PSS to source funds for the improvement of statistics operations. Most MSAs have difficulty accessing international funds.

Although the SSCRS is in place, many of the agencies within the PSS go around the requirements for an approval to suit the requirements of the donor agencies. The Committee discussions also pointed to the need to train PSS personnel in the preparation of research proposals that are attuned to funding agencies. It was suggested that calls for proposals should be publicized at an early stage to as many stakeholders within the PSS as possible. The concept of having a foreign consultant at any given time was also recommended as a possible solution to train the statisticians in government. A mechanism to engage the consultant possibly through a donor grant could be explored.

There is clearly a need to review the design of donor-funded activities on a regular basis. Within the proposed STATPHIL, an Office for Planning & International Affairs

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should take responsibility for such matters and is expected to regularly report to the SPC on the status of such a review.

3.2.3 Staffing and human resources

The MSAs, other data producers in the national government and LGUs underscored the dearth of human resources to fulfill their statistics mandates. While vacancies occur with resignation, retirement or promotion, the process of filling up vacancies is subjected to regulation under the Rationalization Program of the Government as defined in EO No. 366 – Directing a Strategic Review of the Operations and Organizations of the Executive Branch and Providing Options and Incentives for Government Employees who may be Affected by the Rationalization of the Functions and Agencies of the Executive Branch.

Shortage of technical personnel

EO 121, which established the NSCB and the SRTC, provided for a number of technical positions in their respective organizational structures. The NSCB Technical Staff was set up as a Secretariat to the NSCB, to the NSCB IACs, TCs, TWGs and for the generation of the SNA. The SRTC, meanwhile, set up its Research Division and its Training Division to take care of its main functions.

On the other hand, there has been little change in the setup of the NSO as a data collection agency even with its restructuring under EO 5 (Strengthening the National Statistics Office signed on 23 October 1999). The difference in the levels of responsibilities is widespread. For example, the head of the Provincial Office is a Statistician V (Salary Grade 24) and the next in rank is a Statistician II (Salary Grade 15). Moreover, while the job title suggests that the position holder has been trained in statistics, qualification standards to be appointed to the position provide a varied educational background, including graduate degrees in statistics, mathematics, economics, engineering or allied fields. The recruitment standard of the civil service requires a postgraduate degree for the head of the Provincial Office (Salary Grade 24). This encourages aspirants to enroll in the more general programs available in their respective provinces such as management, public administration or business administration to obtain a post graduate degree required for the position.

The need for additional human resources is further compounded by activities on civil registration (i.e., NSO) and ad-hoc assignments (i.e., BAS). For the NSO, the increased advocacy for 100 percent registration has resulted in more information, education and communication activities especially in its field offices. Likewise, the operation of more than 30 Census Serbilis outlets nationwide, which provide copies of birth, death and marriage certificates available from the NSO archives in regional centers and key cities, requires full time staff to service these frontline activities. In the past, civil registration activities were undertaken in the field only in the months where there were no data collection activities.

For the BAS, the diversion of some personnel to ad hoc activities, i.e., special programs that are not programmed for the year but where funding has been made available from the DA, has aggravated the lack of personnel. Technical staffs assigned to these ad hoc activities have to work extra hours to complete their regular tasks and

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in some cases, efficiency is sacrificed. However, the resources provided by these ad hoc activities support some of the requirements for the regular activities. In other cases, the ad hoc activities provide funds to procure some new equipment and arrange for some training (retooling) of the staff.

The SRTC organizes training programs in statistics for a fee to all interested institutions, whether government or private. However, it also suffers from a lack of technical staff. Resource persons for practically all its training programs are outsourced from the statistical agencies and the academe. Training manuals have hardly been produced in its two decades of existence, and when they were, resource persons outside the SRTC prepared these. For NSCB, many of its technical personnel have since moved to more economically rewarding positions outside the agency after obtaining extensive experience in coordination and analysis/compilation of statistical data.

Given the limited availability of technical positions in the statistical agencies, other statistics data producers in national government and LGUs, the problem of lack of personnel is further compounded by the inability to fill up positions unless the agency has an approved Rationalization Plan. As of 31 December 2007, vacancies in positions in five of the six MSAs were as follows:

Major Statistical Agency Number of Plantilla PositionsTotal Filled up Vacant

DA – BAS 1087 888 199DOLE – BLES 51 41 10

NSCB 162 125 37NSO ** 3,020 2455 575SRTC** 25 21 4 ** As of February 16, 2008

There is no shortcut to ensuring sufficient personnel for the PSS. It was suggested that representations be made with the DBM to exempt the statistical agencies from the Rationalization Plan. However, this was not acted on favorably. Instead, the DBM suggested that some of the regular and repetitive tasks be outsourced to create a more cohesive workforce in the system. Expanding the human resources of the NSO to address the multiple assignments, as in assignments in both statistics and civil registration of NSO field personnel, was thus suggested in the regional discussions conducted by the Committee. It was recommended that the problem on lack of personnel in the LGUs be addressed not by capacity building alone but also through a more comprehensive action that involves designation of permanent statistical personnel in the LGUs. In this light, it was suggested that proper representation with the LGU leagues be made to set up a statistics unit with statistician positions in the LGUs.

Inability to upgrade current personnel capacity

The need for expertise in subject matter concerns has been raised to ensure accurate and reliable statistical information. Among these are agriculture census, sampling, applied research using primary data generated by the PSS, small-area estimation, measurement concerns on emerging sectors like ICT, business process outsourcing,

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the informal sector, and interpretation of statistics in the light of international frameworks like the SNA and MDGs, among others.

Lack of continuous training of the technical staff in specialized areas of statistics has also been identified as the reason for the declining technical expertise. In the past, a number of staff of the PSS were sent to short- and long-term training programs in specialized areas like sampling, national accounts, labor and employment, population censuses, and industrial statistics, outside the country. This enabled them to be exposed to good practices in their host countries. While handfuls were trained, these personnel however, eventually moved to other assignments (usually administrative) or to more economically rewarding opportunities outside the PSS. Currently, participation in international training programs is limited. Selected PSS technical staff have attended specialized training only when there is an invitation from multilateral and donor agencies. In recent years, selected technical staff have attended in-country courses hosted by the SRTC with the UN SIAP. However, such arrangements were limited since registration fees were charged the participant’s agency.

Training of personnel on statistics is the responsibility of the SRTC under EO 121. However, given SRTC’s limited resources, it cannot sponsor the annual training of all technical personnel of the MSAs. If the MSAs are to send all of their technical staffs to a training sponsored by the SRTC, the training costs will be quite substantial. Consequently, the MSAs resort to the conduct of in-house training which costs less. The BLES, for instance, undertakes capability building of its staff through coaching and mentoring as provided for in their 3-year training plan and by adopting the human resource development module developed by the SRTC. For the BAS, the re tooling of staff is part of its regular program. For NSO, on the other hand, most of the capacity building is done with its own personnel as resource persons. A more extensive 4-month program to include introductory statistical methods, statistical operations and data processing is undertaken for new recruits and qualified personnel. On the other hand, a 2-month training on applied statistical and administrative matters is likewise scheduled for its field personnel in supervisory position. The two training programs are done alternatively every two years. The 4-month training was last conducted by the NSO in 2004. The budget for such training activities was sourced from the NSO regular funds. NSO personnel served as resource persons. A general training syllabus was agreed upon while the detailed version was often left to the resource person. While efforts were made to provide for a standard training manual, such efforts did not materialize due to regular assignments of the resource persons. The compilation of training materials was useful to the trainees.

The amount of training for the sub-national statistical staff is still inadequate. A number of LGUs have availed of the SRTC training programs. In this light, the SRTC has entered into an agreement with selected academic institutions outside Manila as training affiliates in most regions. However, in some regions, the LGUs directly approached the agencies with whom they have networked in training their staff (e.g., NSO Region XI).

The need for training at the sub-national level was underscored in several FGDs at the regional level. Regional and provincial staffs of the MSAs have relied on in-house training given by their respective offices. The regional and provincial staffs of the MSAs, who are the frontliners in statistics at the local level, are not always able to

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convince the local chief executives of the soundness and robustness of methodologies used by the MSAs. While many of the staff are trained on the how-to of operations, there have been cases when statistics released need to be properly interpreted, when questions on the reliability of statistics produced need to be adequately answered, and when caveats on the limitations of the statistics need to be properly explained.

Retooling of personnel is a complex task. Concerns on who to train and the type of training to be mounted were often brought up. In some cases, trainees were unable to provide returns on the training investments. While it is important to assess the impact of training programs, there has been very little work done on this because of the apprehension that proper training programs cannot be implemented in the first place.

Concerns were likewise raised on the security of tenure of personnel in the civil service. In some agencies, those with government appointments are counted as technical personnel but in effect are not able to contribute to the production of accurate, reliable and timely statistics.

With the multifarious aspects of statistics data generation, there was concern on the need for a mix of specializations i.e., economics, demography, sociology, computer science, archiving, quality control, public management, agriculture, etc., in a statistics agency. Specific targets on the needed number and level of expertise in the other major fields of specialization in each of the agencies should be identified.

The number of government personnel who obtain a postgraduate degree in statistics from scholarships is limited. Interviews of the Committee with key informants yielded concerns that after studying for more than three years, these scholars return to their respective work assignments, often without any change in responsibilities. This situation made the scholars anxious and uneasy as they could not apply what they learned from graduate school. In addition, some of these scholars became more restless as they were not promoted upon their return, especially if longevity and experience are considered for a promotion.

The implementation of a PSS-wide human resource development program was suggested. Given the limited personnel who could serve as resource persons, however, it was stressed that prospective trainers be identified and trained on the subject matter. It was also recommended that training initiatives must address the preparation of training materials/manuals that LGUs have clamored for in the training of their staff. The possibility of being reassigned temporarily to do an approved research work was suggested to encourage academic pursuits even if the staff are in government service. The possibility of tie-ups with universities abroad to send statisticians in postdoctoral stints was also suggested. This is to expose the PSS staff to advancements in other countries. It was suggested that this was meant to prevent “in-breeding.” Moreover, discussions pointed to the need to expose those doing research to actual problems in data collection, including the examination of the quality of data to be used in the studies.

The current workforce of the statistical agencies clearly has to be evaluated in line with their multiple assignments. The performance evaluation scheme among employees, especially those occupying technical positions, will have to be reviewed. Qualification standards for technical positions also have to be reviewed. The proposed

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PSRTI will have to conduct massive training programs to meet technical requirements, including among the LGUs.

Deficiency of statistics professionals in government

The PSS has hardly been attractive to professional statisticians. Only one person among the six major statistical agencies has a Ph.D. in Statistics. Other doctoral degree holders in the major statistical agencies (eleven for NSO and 2 for BAS) have degrees in fields other than statistics. The lack of institutional capabilities within the PSS may be gleaned in the profile of personnel with formal education in Statistics across the MSAs as given below.

Major Statistical

Agency

Number of Personnel by Highest Degree in Statistics BS Statistics Diploma in

StatisticsMAS/ MOS MS in

StatisticsPhD in

StatisticsDA – BAS 30 34 1

DOLE – BLES 6 1NSCB 36 1 7 1 1NSO 74 13 7*

SRTC 4 3*Includes courses like MS Biostatistics, Master of Science in Survey Integration for Resources Management and Master of Science in Survey Methods.

While the SRTC’s major mandate is to conduct research, its current personnel lack qualifications to take the lead in statistical research. The highest postgraduate degree in statistics of its current personnel is a Master of Statistics (MOS) degree. At NSO, the majority of statistics-related postgraduate degrees are either MOS or Master of Applied Statistics (MAS), which is insufficient for undertaking studies to introduce new and innovative methodologies.

The Scholarship Program of the Re-engineering the PSS Phase II Project, implemented by the SRTC, has produced two graduates with M.S. Statistics degrees from the University of the Philippines in Diliman (UPD). In the 1990s, some 30 personnel from the BAS obtained their MOS also from UPD. However, many of these personnel from BAS have since moved out of the BAS, either for better-compensated positions at the NSCB and BSP or have joined the international development community. Given the complexity of the statistics to be produced by the PSS, concerns were raised as to how many postgraduate degree holders in statistics are actually needed to introduce the needed innovations to make the PSS as progressive as other statistical systems in developed countries.

Some statistical agencies, e.g., NSCB and NSO, undertake active recruitment from the recent graduates of statistics. A career in government, however, does not attract the majority of the statistics graduates as it does not provide a competitive compensation package compared to those offered by the private sector, especially call centers, software vendors and market research firms, among others.

The exposure of university students was suggested as a catalyst to the current state of an unattractive career in government statistics. The career path and possibilities of advancement in the civil service could be packaged to attract more graduates to government statistics. One of the suggestions forwarded toward career advancement

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was to adopt a system of academic accreditation for training courses conducted by the SRTC. The accreditation could be in the form of graduate units toward a MOS/MAS. As to the issue of compensation, there were suggestions to encourage statistical professionals in government to be part of a research team to have financial support. For those who are really inclined to doing research work, a research track can be an option.

There is a need to implement effective interventions for building the statistics human resources. The proposed PSRTI should be engaged in massive training, and as earlier mentioned, should also be engaged in issuing a Certification of Basic Statistics Competence.

Personnel of statistics units of departments and LGUs should have a PSRTI certification of Basic Statistics Competence.

Training fellowship positions should be available at the PSRTI which will be developing training materials and lead in the conduct of training programs. The PSRTI, however, may also seek the assistance of resource persons from the academe, STATPHIL and other data producers for its trainings, especially when expertise is not available within the PSRTI.

A research track could be developed through the Research Fellowship positions at the PSRTI, which will provide an alternative avenue for professional statisticians to assist the PSS in the production of statistics. As in the case of trainings, the PSRTI, however, may also seek the assistance of researchers from the academe, STATPHIL and other data producers for the conduct of research, especially when expertise is not available within the PSRTI. A mechanism for temporary secondment of technical statistics personnel from other agencies to PSRTI for the purpose of undertaking research and/or training should be developed.

3.2.4 Statistical education for government institutions

Formal statistics education starts as early as elementary and high school when the measures of central tendency are taught as advance lessons in mathematics. Elementary and high school math teachers, however, are not usually trained to teach statistics. Hence, taking a bachelor’s degree in statistics is not attractive to high school students. Only over 200 freshmen students enroll in the statistics programs in the UP system.

As a basic university degree, there are regular statistics graduates from the 19 HEIs. However, these graduates, especially those from Metro Manila and adjoining regions, are already absorbed by the private sector right after graduation as it offers more than twice the starting salary in government. Concerns on the applicability of the university training for government statistical institutions were also raised. The academic programs at UPD, for example, provide training as academics and researchers and it does not provide a track geared for government statisticians. Moreover, the academe tries to keep their graduates to teach their own programs by involving them in projects to gain additional income.

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A study by a member of the Special Committee (Bersales, 2006), indicates that there are 19 HEIs that have postgraduate programs in statistics across the country. The list of these HEIs, shown in Table 3.2, does not include schools that may have programs in applied mathematics which include statistics as a specialization but do not have formal statistics programs.

There are now 19 Ph.D. students at the School of Statistics of UPD and less than 10 at the INSTAT of UPLB. The use of data generated by the PSS in postgraduate research projects remains a concern of those in the statistical agencies. While a number of students conduct their own surveys, the results of activities conducted by statistical agencies should serve as take-off points for such academic pursuits. The lack of resources for regular activities does not allow the MSAs to offer any financial assistance to the postgraduate students. The SRTC, however, offers limited thesis assistance on a competitive basis.

The need to create a mass of professional statisticians to assist in the statistical activities not only at the statistical agencies but also in other data producers at the national level and the LGUs was suggested. Discussions pointed to the need to increase the scholarships for the study of statistics as a postgraduate degree. The possibility of providing postgraduate degree scholarships and a track for government statistics were suggested to ensure a steady supply of future statisticians. However, it was noted that the advocacy to promote statistics degree should be done not only in senior high school but as early as in the elementary level. In this light, it was suggested that training on how to teach statistics as a subject must be included in the education curricula. Suggestions to include statistics as part of the core curriculum in the university was likewise mentioned to fast track the formation of a successor generation of statisticians in the country.

The Committee recommends that the proposed STATPHIL and the PSRTI work with the DEPED and CHED toward the improvement of literacy in statistics and the increase of statistical human resources. The DEPED should develop mechanisms for incorporating basic statistics concepts in both the primary and secondary education curriculum. The CHED should institute reforms to ensure that all college students should at least take a three-unit Basic Statistics course as well as provide mechanisms for promoting the quality of this statistics education. College students should be provided exposure on government statistics.

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Table 3.2. List of Schools Offering Statistics ProgramsSchool Academic Programs

School of Statistics, U.P. Diliman, Quezon City B.S. StatisticsMaster of StatisticsM.S. StatisticsPh.D. in Statistics

Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Manila

Associate in Applied StatisticsBachelor in Applied StatisticsMaster of Applied Statistics

De La Salle University, Manila (DLSU), Manila B.S. StatisticsRizal Technological University, Mandaluyong City B.S. StatisticsUniversity of the East, Manila B.S. StatisticsInstitute of Statistics (INSTAT), U.P. Los Baños in Laguna

B.S. StatisticsM.S. StatisticsPh.D. in Statistics

Central Luzon State University in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija

B.S. Applied Statistics

Benguet State University in La Trinidad, Benguet B.S. Applied StatisticsMaster of Arts in Applied Statistics

Batangas State University B.S. StatisticsUniversity of Northern Philippines ,Vigan, Ilocos Sur

B.S. Mathematics/StatisticsMaster of Statistics

U.P. Visayas (UPV) in Miag-ao, Iloilo B.S. StatisticsVisayas State University in Baybay,Leyte B.S. StatisticsEastern Visayas State University in Tacloban City B.S. StatisticsNegros State College of Agriculture in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental

Statistics*

Samar State Polytechnic College in Catbalogan, Western Samar

B.S. Applied Statistics

Iligan Institute of Technology, Mindanao State University in Iligan

B.S. StatisticsMaster of Applied StatisticsM.S. Statistics

Mindanao State University, Tawi-tawi B.S. StatisticsUniversity of Southeastern Philippines in Davao City

B.S. Statistics

Western Mindanao State University in Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Norte

B.S. Statistics

Within the next ten years, selected staff from the PSS should be provided scholarship opportunities on a competitive basis to pursue graduate degrees in statistics. The PSS should target sending at least one hundred of its personnel for masters degrees in statistics at a current estimated cost of P320,000 per scholar and at least twenty personnel for Ph.D. in Statistics at a current estimated cost of P1,104,000 per scholar, excluding costs for salaries of these personnel. The detailed estimated costs are shown in Table 3.3.. These costs were made on the assumption that the scholars will be sent to the CHED Center of Excellence and Centers of Development in Statistics, namely, the UP School of Statistics and the UP INSTAT, respectively, and that the Ph.D. scholars will be provided a one-month study tour for visiting an advanced

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statistical system overseas. The PSRTI ought to take charge of this scholarship program, which will have a total cost of PhP 54 million spread over ten years.

Table 3.3 Estimated Costs of Scholarship Program for Graduate Degrees in Statistics for PSS Staff

(a) M.S. in StatisticsItem Estimate Cost (in PhP)Tuition 15,000 per semester x 2 semesters per year x 2 years 60,000Book Allowance 4,000 per semester x 2 semesters per year x 2 years 16,000Stipend 8,000 per month x 12 months per year x 2 years 192,000Accident Insurance 1,000 per year x 2 years 2,000Thesis Allowance 50,000TOTAL 320,000

(b) Ph.D. in StatisticsItem Estimate Cost (in PhP)Tuition 15,000 per semester x 2 semesters per year x 4 years 120,000Book Allowance 5,000 per semester x 2 semesters per year x 4 years 40,000Stipend 10,000 per month x 12 months per year x 4 years 480,000Accident Insurance 1,000 per year x 4 years 4,000Dissertation Allowance 100,000Study Tour 10,000 USD perdiem for one month and 2,000 USD

travel expense (@40 PHP to 1 USD)480,000

TOTAL 1,104,000

3.2.5 Establishment of a statistical career system

The PSS has recently established procedures for the Scientific Career System for Statistics (SCSS) to enhance the career options of statisticians in the PSS. The SCSS is a system of recruitment, career progression, recognition and reward for statisticians in public service. Its objective is to develop a pool of highly qualified and productive statisticians in the country. The SCSS is patterned after the existing Scientific Career System (SCS) managed by the DOST but meant to be more applicable to statisticians in government. There have been concerns that the DOST-managed SCS is geared more for researchers and that its rigid requirements have served as a disincentive rather than an incentive for practicing statisticians in government. Hence, a parallel career system like the SCSS had been explored, but there will be a need to further make the system more attractive.

3.2.6 Infrastructure

Absence of a building to house the major agencies in the PSS

Compared to their Southeast Asian counterparts, only Laos and the Philippines are countries where the statistical agencies do not own their buildings. At present, only BLES is housed in its own facility but it is included in the DOLE complex. Similarly, the Department of Economic Statistics of the BSP is housed in the BSP Complex. MSAs like the BAS, NSCB, NSO and SRTC have their offices in rented buildings. There were previous initiatives to construct buildings for the BAS and NSO but these efforts did not prosper.

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The BAS rents a six-floor building along Quezon Boulevard in Quezon City. The plan to construct a building in the DA complex was shelved with the discontinuance of the Grains Sector Development Project (GSDP) under a loan from the ADB. The NSO houses its more than 1,000 Central Office personnel in three rented buildings in Manila and Quezon City and in a warehouse-like structure in its 2-hectare lot in East Avenue, Quezon City to cater to its clients for civil registration certificates. It also rents two warehouses for the storage of civil registration documents, completed survey questionnaires and administrative forms. The NSO pays a rental of about P90 million annually for Central Office use. This excludes the rental of NSO regional and district offices. The SRTC rents about 900 square meters of office space to house its offices, training rooms and lodging for trainees at P2.1 million annually. The NSCB rents two floors to house its central office in the central business district in Makati City with an annual rental of P11 million.

As mentioned in the previous chapter, only the BAS has an offsite back-up data archiving facility which is located at the DA compound. The BLES does not have an offsite back-up facility but has a collection of publications in hard copies and survey results in CD for activities done since 1990. The NSO, on the other hand, has offsite back-up for the civil registry archives that it maintains in various sites. Statistical data files, most of which are now in CD, are currently maintained in its main building or the adjacent building. The NSO has entered into some formal data-sharing arrangements with the academe locally (the UP Population Institute and the UP School of Economics, to name a few) and abroad (e.g., the University of Hawaii, East-West Center, the University of Minnesota, among others). The NSO also maintains libraries in its central, regional and provincial offices. To date, it has 88 accredited data centers, which are either libraries in colleges and universities or public libraries provided with recent NSO publications. The absence of a building for the statistical agencies raises concern on security of data and personnel. Moreover, PSS data users have criticized the distant locations of the statistical agencies as unfriendly in terms of access to the government’s statistical products and services. It was suggested that a building to house the STATPHIL be provided at the soonest time possible upon its establishment and integrated into the Medium Term Public Investment Plan (MTPIP) and Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and annual budget of the national government.

Irregular upgrading or replacement of computers and software

The type and number of equipment available to the statistical agencies show the disparity in personnel-to-computer ratio. The NSO, being the major data-gathering agency that processes census and survey results, includes high-speed scanners in its inventory. While the computer and scanning equipment are acquired regularly, concern was raised on the irregular upgrading or replacement of existing or obsolete equipment.

There is concern also on the use of statistical and related softwares. Information technology equipment is dependent on the software it will use. While computer units are purchased regularly, this is not true for software. In some of the MSAs, the number of computer units is greater than licensed operating system softwares. The BAS, for instance, reported utilizing licensed softwares such as E-views, STATA 8, PC-Axis and Adobe Pagemaker, but these softwares are available only for some

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computers. The NSO, on the other hand, uses freeware, e.g. CSPro, Open Office, given the huge costs of purchasing commercial software. The SRTC utilizes only the STATA software for training on statistical processing and analysis. However, concerns are often raised by the SRTC trainees regarding the applications of what they learned when they go back to their respective stations. A question also arises on the maximization of the use of software given the variability of statistical softwares being maintained in the MSAs (i.e., STATA and SPSS for NSO; SPSS for BLES; STATA for SRTC). Maintenance of licensed softwares is expensive and sometimes, the annual renewal of leases for these softwares (e.g., SAS) may not be affordable for the statistical agencies.

The issue of providing computer units with licensed softwares to the field offices and addressing the obsolescence of their computer equipment have been expressed by the regional and provincial offices of the MSAs and statistical units in other national agencies during focus group discussions. The lack of capital outlay in the statistical agency’s budget translates to the inability to provide IT equipment to the regional and provincial offices of the statistical agencies. LGUs, on the other hand, do not have a problem with the sourcing of new equipment as they have autonomy in their financial transactions. However, procurement of licensed statistics softwares is not addressed among LGUs because of their limited use.

Another concern raised is on the updating of maps for use in the survey operations. Recent technologies recommend the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS). To translate the GPS coordinates into maps, a Geographic Information System (GIS) software is needed. However, GPS recorded maps have not been used due to the limited GPS units available at the NSO as well as the huge costs of many commercial GIS softwares such as Arc-View.

The upgrading or procurement of computer equipment and software could only be supported if there are available resources to the PSS. It was suggested that the strategic plan of the PSS should also address the upgrading of its computer equipment and softwares. The possibility of having computer laboratories to house statistical softwares could be established in the NSO regional and provincial offices or the training affiliates of the SRTC for the use of the LGUs in processing and analyzing their own data.

Provision of other equipment to support generation and dissemination of statistical outputs

The requirements for effective data collection operations and successful data dissemination activities are subject to the equipment made available to the agencies.

Among the six MSAs, the NSO equipment holding is the largest, most varied and dispersed outside the central office. This includes office vehicles, audio-visual, printing and other dissemination equipment. These units of equipment are used for effective operations. For example, the quality of the statistics generated by the system is contingent on the accuracy of information supplied or gathered from the source. The issue of accessing the source, however, depends on the resources made available to travel to the place of interview, among others. Although NSO regional and provincial offices are provided with utility vehicles, it was mentioned during the field

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consultations that far flung and mountainous areas require special types of vehicles for use in operations. It was pointed out during the discussions that data users, especially the respondents to the establishment surveys, have stressed the need for NSO to disseminate the results of the data collection activities. However, when schedules overlap, access to borrowed equipment is nil or difficult. There was thus a concern that with the increasing activities of the NSO, there is a need for more dissemination initiatives on statistical matters and capacity building on civil registration rules and issuances. These initiatives will require both improving the dissemination skills of its personnel and the provision of the proper equipment to be used.

The SRTC, which does not have field offices, has had to rent equipment for its regional training activities. On the other hand, the BAS and BLES have access to the equipment of the other divisions within their respective departments.

It was suggested that equipment in support of statistical activities be made available to the statistical agencies. A plan on upgrading and replacing these equipment should be included in the comprehensive information and communication technology (ICT) plan and budget of the statistical agencies.

3.3 Issues on Statistical Products and Services

There remain areas for improving the quality, relevance and adequacy of statistical products and services produced by the PSS, namely:

3.3.1 Relevance, Integrity and Adequacy of Statistical Outputs

An overall assessment by the IMF as contained in its report: “Philippines: Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC)– Data Module, Response by the Authorities, and Detailed Assessments Using Data Quality Assessment Framework”3, stated that the statistical system of the Philippines is sustained by generally strong legal and institutional frameworks and solid methodological foundations. However, following recent progress, there is need for authorities to persevere with efforts to improve accuracy and reliability, which is particularly urgent in the balance of payments (BOP) account. Source data for compiling the BOP remain incomplete and result in significant undercoverage. Such undercoverage is related to incomplete recording of trade flows derived from customs declarations by the NSO and remittances from OFWs channeled outside the banking system, limited coverage of other transactions settled outside the banking system, and difficulties in correctly classifying transactions channeled through foreign currency deposit units.

Identified shortcomings in data sources and statistical techniques should be addressed, in particular, deficiencies relating to the national accounts and the BOP, as cited in the ROSC’s Report4. The same report recommends that for fiscal statistics, procedures should be formulated to ensure the availability of the most accurate and reliable sources of data. The coverage of customs data should be improved. Estimates of the value of remittances of OFWs channeled outside banks should be developed. The commendably high accessibility to data should also be supported by continued

3 Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF), IMF Country Report No. 04/281, August 20044 IMF, August 2004

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production of macroeconomic statistics useful for economic analysis and policy-making.

There are questions about the adequacy of NSO resources devoted to producing data for the national accounts and foreign trade statistics. While resources dedicated to price statistics appear broadly adequate, more staff time appears necessary to follow up survey responses and process results. Quarterly survey data provide insufficient information for the compilation of the national accounts. Gaps are filled to some extent, with data from various administrative sources. Although comprehensive data collection is in place, annual establishment surveys become available with a significant delay and thus are used in a limited scale for compiling the national accounts. Assessment and validation need to be strengthened and revision studies done on a routine basis.

A broad indicator of the quality of statistics in developing countries is subscription to the IMF’s Special Data Dissemination Standards (SDDS).5 Based on the evaluation of the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of macroeconomic data in compliance to the SDDS, the Philippines meets SDDS specifications using flexibility options for the periodicity and timeliness of wage data and for the timeliness of production and producer price indices. Data on central government, national accounts and consumer prices exceed SDDS prescriptions on timeliness while BOP data exceed the prescription for periodicity. Nonetheless, long-standing discrepancies in estimates of external sector data of the service data and income accounts prepared by the NSCB and the BSP suggest a need for more results-oriented coordination of the statistical system. Likewise, gaps in the compilation of import data involving the Bureau of Customs and the NSO highlight the urgent need for closer and more frequent collaboration at the technical level. Stronger coordination of agencies concerned with income accounts, external transaction and the services sector is needed with a focus on the generation of primary data by making the necessary and appropriate financial assistance available. Likewise, stronger collaboration of concerned agencies is recommended with a focus on the harmonization of primary data by making the necessary and appropriate financial and technical assistance available.

It should be noted, however, that IMF requirements (hence, data quality assessments) are biased toward national level financial and economic sector statistics. Thus, assessments through the SDDS are non-informative about the state of sub-national statistics and are only peripherally relevant to social (including health and education) and environment statistics. Moreover, as shown by the many criticisms aired during the special session on national income accounts (discussed elsewhere in this report), domestic evaluations that are based on more frequent in-country use can spot many more areas for improvement than evaluations based on an international perspective.

The national accounts series still follow the 1968 System of National Accounts (SNA); despite years of efforts, migration to the 1993 SNA has yet to be achieved. And the constant price estimates are still based on 1985 prices. Users and other stakeholders have expressed concern on the accuracy and relevance of the series, given the significant 25 years cumulative changes in the structure of the economy. Moving to a later base (say 2000 or preferably 2003) should be a very high priority

5 “Measuring up to the Measurement Problem: The Role of statistics in evidenced-based policy-making”, Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century, January 2005.

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project of the PSS. Inadequate resources, misplaced priorities and inability to respond quickly to users’ requirements/criticisms from inside and outside of the PSS have been mentioned as some of the reasons for these persistent weaknesses in the national accounts series. Data gaps should be addressed to make the accounts reflective of the current state of development in the economy. Input-output tables must be updated regularly, at least every three years. Moving to the 1993 SNA should be accorded highest priority by the PSS. Rebasing of the national accounts and other economic indices should be done regularly and in a synchronized manner.

A number of issues raised during the Committee’s deliberations included the compilation of the national accounts and coordination of the PSS.

The Committee felt the necessity for a more effective process of internal (within the system) and external performance evaluation or audit of the MSAs of the system. Concerning national accounts, it is deemed necessary that the producing agency be in constant interaction with users of statistics, e.g., provide fora where economists and statisticians discuss improvements on particular input data and methodologies.

It is recommended that compilation of the national accounts should be undertaken by STATPHIL under a distinct unit for that purpose. There is urgent need to clear the significant inconsistencies and contradictions being raised concerning the national income accounts data (e.g., vis-à-vis the FIES and MISSI). Efforts should be intensified to improve inter-sectoral data consistency and reconciliation in the compilation of national accounts. Coordination with concerned agencies should be strengthened to facilitate early resolution of compilation problems, e.g. agricultural production statistics (currently of BAS).

At present, some statistical agencies and their statistical products are under the supervision of government departments that enforce or implement programs. In light of this, there are perceptions that the collection, processing and reporting of some statistics may be subject to undue political influence. Integrity of statistics should be ensured at all times and should be free of political influence. All data generation for the proposed PDS should be consolidated under STATPHIL, with the statistical units of concerned agencies limited to analysis and interpretation of the data, and conduct of special purpose statistical activities.

There has also been hardly any change in field data collection practices. For income and expenditure surveys, face-to-face-interviews with long recall and/or reference period have been used since their inception. There has been some researches done on the quality of the basic information from this data capture method and on alternative data capture methods; however, the findings revealed the difficulty in their operationalization. With establishment-based surveys, there are signs of reversal or retrogression instead of progress. Constructing frames of business registers and updating them has become more problematic with the expansion of the number and kinds of establishments and enterprises. The data capture method still mainly in use, viz., mailed questionnaire followed by face-to-face interview, is archaic and inappropriate vis-à-vis electronic and globalized commerce, for example. A specific recent case involved the serious under-reporting of external trade due to the inability of the current instruments to adequately capture transactions in export processing zones. Non-response rates have been on the rise or stagnant at best. Last but not least,

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the NSO used non-probability sampling procedures for some establishment surveys, e.g., among others, the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries. This means that they are not being able to compute valid estimates of error for the statistics coming from these surveys.

Response rates of surveys should be improved to enhance quality of data. Measures to streamline questionnaires of key surveys should be formulated to minimize response burden, along with the review and updating of penalties for non-compliance to surveys conducted by the PSS. Comprehensiveness and representativeness of samples used in surveys conducted by the PSS should be ensured through most appropriate and practical designs. Linkages with the private sector and industry associations who are providers of information should be strengthened. The SSRCS should be enhanced to eliminate duplication and ensure that best practices are followed when designing and conducting surveys within the PSS. The studies should also look into the question of balancing sample size, sampling design, costs and PSS resources; i.e., harnessing survey sampling theory and methods to optimize cost-effectiveness of data collection activities.

Evaluations of surveys have not been systematically conducted nor utilized for the improvement of subsequent rounds of these surveys. Only post-enumeration surveys have been undertaken for the censuses of population and housing and for some rounds of the census of agriculture, but the results of these surveys have not been published nor utilized. It is thus recommended that the Office for Methodology and Analysis under STATPHIL and the PSRTI conduct regular evaluations of surveys to ensure data quality.

Data accuracy, reliability, timeliness and comparability

Concerns were raised on the methodological soundness and inconsistencies for particular statistics, e.g., infant mortality rate, crop statistics, births and deaths, etc. Birth and death rates and other health indicators sourced from the DOH’s Field Health Service Information System (FHSIS), the NSO’s Civil Registration System and sample surveys such as NDSH show discrepancies often exceeding sampling errors. Despite inter-agency efforts to resolve these comparability issues, inconsistencies in these estimates have persisted through the years. While the DOH, in recognition of this problem, has embarked on the “Development and Implementation of a Coordinated and Comprehensive Philippine Health Information System” in collaboration with the NSCB, NSO and other stakeholders, there should be assurance that these efforts will be implemented and sustained in the medium-term. Although the project’s main objective to harmonize and streamline the delivery of timely, relevant and reliable health information to users is a laudable effort, lessons from past experiences, e.g., difficulties and failure in integrating systems such as the National Crime Information System of the criminal justice agencies, should be taken into consideration.

To ensure that data generated by data producers other than those under STATPHIL will be implemented and sustained in the medium term, STATPHIL and PSRTI should provide the required technical assistance to such data producers.

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Concerns were also raised that revisions in designs, concepts, definitions or methodologies in the surveys or derived statistics (such as labor force and employment) which are released to the public are not accompanied adequately by explanatory or technical notes. It was emphasized that a parallel run of the old and the new series should be maintained for a reasonable length of time to allow assessment of the comparability and consistency of the estimates. It is recommended that the SPC develop policies about such revisions and parallel runs of data series when new definitions are developed.

Agriculture (and fisheries) statistics are produced by the BAS mainly through sample surveys except those from the decennial agriculture (and fisheries) censuses which by law are assigned to the NSO. This split has led to several undesirable effects on the national agricultural database: (i) Observed discrepancies between census and survey data (or NSO and BAS estimates) are so large that the two cannot be combined to form a continuous series. Consequently, the BAS continues its regular data production even during census years; (ii) One of the major reasons for undertaking censuses is that these serve as sampling frames for the inter-censal sample surveys; this, however, has not happened smoothly under the present arrangement where censuses and surveys are done separately by different agencies; (iii) NSO could not possibly justify a permanent agriculture statistics group when it deals with the subject only once every ten years; this lack of technical subject matter expertise (in agriculture) cannot but impact negatively on the quality of the census results; and (iv) having two agencies maintaining nationwide field personnel to collect the same types of data is wasteful and inefficient. Responsibility for the entire agricultural database must lie within STATPHIL.

The burden of reporting among respondents has affected the response rates of major censuses and surveys in the PSS. The questionnaire length and the fact that establishment surveys require various respondents within an establishment give rise to much delayed responses to surveys and poor quality of data. Years of research in advanced countries have established a strong inverse relationship between the length of interview, on the one hand, and response rate and accuracy of the information obtained, on the other hand. The accuracy of the responses begins to deteriorate after 30 minutes of interviewing, with the velocity of deterioration rising rapidly after one hour. These findings are, or should be, forceful determinants of the length of questionnaires. In the Philippines, however, questionnaires that take more than two hours are common. For example, the 2003 FIES questionnaire is 70 pages long and takes more than two hours to complete. Financial resources are also insufficient to support data collection of statistics and related activities by the MSAs. Difficulties in collecting data from establishments give rise to low response rates of surveys and poor quality of data. Response rates of surveys should be further improved to enhance quality of data. Questionnaires for key surveys should be streamlined to minimize response burden. Likewise, penalties for non-compliance to surveys conducted by STATPHIL should be reviewed and updated.

In the proposed PSS reorganization, the task of keeping the designated statistics updated and securing the budgetary support the proposed PDS needs will fall on the SPC. The priority statistics to be produced, their periodicities, levels of disaggregation, release calendar and distribution of responsibilities among the PSS member agencies are embedded in the PDS. In majority of cases, province is the

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domain or level of disaggregation, except in census and administrative reports-based statistics where the domain could be smaller.

Data gaps and unreported statistics

Some of the more common data gaps identified during the Committee evaluation include the following: 1) population data (at different levels of geographic disaggregation and age-specific distributions) 2) rainfall data (at the level of required disaggregation); 3) data on medical tourism and holiday economics; 4) inadequacy of specific industry data at the city/municipal level; 5) basic establishment information, e.g., contact numbers and addresses; 6) hospital information (from private hospitals); 7) number of practitioners in the medical industry; 8) labor productivity; 9) community-based statistics; 10) education indicators from private schools; and 11) others. Many of the gaps identified during the FGDs were, however, outside of the SDS and are sector-specific. The STATPHIL should devise mechanisms to ensure responsiveness to data needs of various sectors.

Dynamism and responsiveness to needs

It was emphasized repeatedly during the FGDs and consultations that the usefulness of statistics at the regional level has diminished as there are no regional governments that are accountable to their constituents. As stated by sub-national entities, it is difficult to see what specific areas at the provincial level need help when development institutions look only at regional information. And yet, aside from the censuses and some province-level agricultural statistics (e.g., rice and corn), most other statistics with acceptable levels of sampling error are available at the national and regional levels only. In particular, NSO’s major household surveys have been designed to produce precise estimates for regions only. Statistics from the agency’s establishment-based surveys also have not gone lower than the regions. This present state of affairs points to the need for methodological studies exploring ways to redesign these surveys. There is need for methodological studies redesigning these surveys and using model-based estimation, looking into the question of balancing sample size, sampling design, costs and PSS resources, i.e., harnessing survey sampling theory and methods to address demands for small area statistics.

End users at the sub-national level expressed the desire for more frequent conduct/availability of particular surveys/indicators, e.g., increasing the frequency of nutrition, poverty and some health statistics from 3-5 years to annually. LGUs also expressed the wish for other sub-national frameworks and indicator systems such as the provincial product accounts. It has been pointed out, however, that many of these wishes are impractical in the sense that their input data requirements would be so massive and would require increasing sample sizes way beyond the means of the PSS and technical human resources that the LGUs may not be capable or willing to invest in the medium term. These problems are best illustrated by the data and technical requirements to compile provincial product accounts. Perhaps LGU needs can be served cheaply and more quickly by a simpler set of economic indicators. Such indicators should be identified.

As earlier indicated, while the SDS prescribes the periodicity of statistics and indicators critical for planning and policy formulation, there is a need to revisit the system more frequently to realign it to changing statistical information needs and

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priorities at the national and sub-national levels. In addition, a City/Municipal Statistics Officer (MSO) from the STATPHIL will be assigned for every city/municipality tasked to provide technical assistance. The MSOs may be considered “outposted” staff of the Provincial Statistician. The LGUs through the Local Chief Executives should be encouraged to provide office space and other logistics support to carry out the functions of the MSO.

Some misrepresentation or misuse of statistics occurs at the LGU level, specifically when reporting information on the state/condition of the LGU to gain access to calamity funds or donor-driven initiatives. Similarly, some LGUs question the reliability of high figures of poverty statistics for performance assessment or monitoring governance but gladly endorse the same figures if these prove useful in gaining access to subsidies or assistance. Requests by legislators for more recent data for certain statistics are obliged even when data are incomplete or without proper caveats on their limitations, e.g., health statistics. Thus, the STATPHIL and other data producers will have to develop strategies such as training programs and awareness creation among LGUs to ensure their proper use of statistics.

3.3.2 Applicability of Statistical Design and Methodology

While the MSAs and other data producers recognize the importance of undertaking research and have in fact produced a number of them, there remains a need to strengthen the capacity of the agencies to undertake methodological research in support of, or supplementary to the SRTC’s research program. Priority areas relevant to addressing improvements in the PSS should be determined. There is a need to enhance dissemination and utilization of research outputs in the PSS, especially outputs pertaining to concepts and statistical methodologies. Beyond dissemination of the research outputs, there should be a mechanism to monitor the utilization of these statistical research outputs.

3.3.3 Inadequate Mechanisms for Check and Balance

While the SSRCS provides the mechanism by which the NSCB evaluates and approves all statistical surveys to be conducted by government agencies, a few surveys do not go through the process, e.g., the 2007 National Tuberculosis Prevalence Survey. There is a need for more effective inter-agency coordination between the NSCB and the conducting agency to make sure that proposed recommendations in the survey design are implemented. Hence, a feedback mechanism needs to be put in place.

The SPC, upon establishment, should issue a circular mentioning the Survey Review Clearance System, and the sanctions set forth for making public results of surveys that have not undergone the clearance system. It should also regularly issue circulars reminding government agencies about this system.

3.4 Issues on Data Management, Archiving and Dissemination

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3.4.1 Need to Further Improve the Management, Storage and Dissemination of Statistical Products

Accessibility

Easy and equal access to official data is a fundamental condition for statistics to address the needs of policymakers and the general public. Some data users have experienced being given the run-around in their data requests. Hence, there is a need to enhance the accessibility of information in all forms of dissemination, especially via the websites of the MSAs and other data producers, and once established, the STATPHIL. Users and other browsers noted with concern the “slow speed” at which websites of the current MSAs operate. While design and technical specifications may be at fault, unnecessary “clutter” of information, too many graphics and color (‘junk charts’ in graphical display jargon) can slow down website response considerably. Moreover, much remains to be improved in terms of the organization of sector-specific statistics as users sometimes get lost when searching for the desired links and sites. The websites should be configured to provide easier access to useful information. There is also a need for the MSAs and other data producers, and the STATPHIL, once it is established, to publish comprehensive metadata along with the statistics being released at all times.

Universal access is crucial and websites of statistical agencies serve as the proper gateway of official information to the PSS. However, users currently may not always know where to access information that they require. While a number of information centers and accredited information centers have been set up, more one-stop information centers should be established at the sub-national levels as well. Programs and activities envisioned in the GSAP should be implemented and provided with sufficient funds. These include the following: a) establishment of one-stop shops or information centers in all regions and provinces to gain easy access to statistics produced by the PSS; b) enhancement of websites for efficient utilization; c) production of PUFs of surveys and censuses for designated statistics; d) maximized utilization of IT and other forms of media in the delivery of statistical products and services; e) publication of metadata along with data released; f) publication in the website of release calendars which contain when, where and what statistics will be released; g) regular conduct of appropriate forums to enhance understanding and appreciation of statistics produced by the system; and h) other improvement activities that will enhance accessibility of statistics produced by the PSS.

Concerns were raised on the tardiness and unsynchronized release of estimates and publication at the national and sub-national levels. For example, census results of provincial population and the socio-economic characteristics are released at a later period than the national summaries. It came out during the FGDs that some requests for information at LGU levels remained unmet because of the MSA’s policy of releasing or authorizing release of information by the central office only. Such policy is viewed as a reduction in the efficiency of the PSS at the sub-national level for planning and monitoring. This can be relieved by putting up more one-stop information centers not only at the national level but at the sub-national levels as well. Timely availability of data both at the national and sub-national levels should be

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ensured and synchronized. In observance of the SDS and the SDDS, advance release calendars of statistics covered by these systems should be maintained in the websites of agencies responsible for data subjects of these standards/systems. Decisions on content and scope including quality of official statistics to be published should be based on standard guidelines and procedures. Official statistics shall be objective and made available, following the concept of “public good”, to the general public at the time these are needed. However, the statistics should be produced and published in a manner that protects the privacy of individuals.

While Public Use Files (PUFs) or micro datasets are available for major surveys of the NSO, these are not accessible at reasonable costs. PUFs of designated censuses and surveys need to be easily available at reasonable cost to the public in general but more especially to researchers and analysts outside the PSS. The degree of friendliness of the available PUFs to users also needs to be improved. The scope of available PUFs should likewise also be expanded for all designated statistics. In the long term, all surveys conducted by the PSS should have PUFs readily available.

Archiving issues

The development of an electronic archiving system for Philippine statistics was initiated through NSCB Resolution No. 11, Series of 1997, which stipulated that archiving measures should be adopted to ensure the preservation, systematic storage and retrieval of statistical data, including records on their methodology, concepts and other metadata. An archiving policy was issued by the NSCB in 2002 which sets out the principles, policies and program of work for ensuring a decentralized archiving system for the PSS. To date, however, the MSAs have only implemented their individual agency archives on a limited scale due to problems of storage capacities and costs to maintain offsite archive locations.

There is scarcity of documents/publications on historical information for future reference. At the NSO, raw data files of some important surveys and censuses were either lost or destroyed, specifically the 1990 CPH, which were stored in magnetic tapes. There is need to revisit the archiving policies and guidelines based on NSCB Resolution No. 11, Series of 2002, considering recent advancement in technologies, centralized location as well as security measures. Implementation and enforcement of the prescribed systems and procedures as may be revised, should be strictly done by the SPC through the STATPHIL. In the short term, the following activities should be done: a) for the NSO to continuously improve archiving of old publications of censuses and surveys especially, the census data files; b) the BLES to discuss with the PIDS or the BSP on the establishment of their offsite archive; and c) the NCSB and BAS to improve their respective archiving systems. In the longterm, monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the revised policies on archiving should be done on an annual basis by the SPC.

3.4.2 Lack of Capacity

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There is a need to enhance capacity of the statistical agencies in the areas of website development, maintenance and updating, packaging, promotion and dissemination of statistical publications, products and services. The inadequacy of personnel handling data management and archiving is also common among the MSAs. Due to budget constraints, some agencies resort to using not only cheap and unlicensed software but also outmoded personal computers.

The quality of ICT facilities for data handling, including entry, editing, processing, storage, archiving and dissemination is constrained by the rented buildings and related infrastructure that house the MSAs. Communication and personal interaction are hampered by being in separate locations spread over Metro Manila. One is constrained from investing large sums on ICT facilities if these are to be installed in old buildings that are merely rented.

To address these issues, adequate training in webpage development and improvement of statistical databases should be programmed for personnel manning the databases. There is a need to enhance capacity of the statistical agencies in the areas of website development, maintenance and updating, apart from the packaging, promotion and dissemination of statistical publications, products and services. The necessary computer facilities, including software and other equipment, should be ensured through regular budgetary provision to STATPHIL and PSRTI.

Likewise, a new building should be constructed to house the personnel of STATPHIL that can accommodate its specific archiving and warehouse requirements. The construction of this building should be integrated into the Medium Term Public Investment Plan (MTPIP) and Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and annual budget of the national government. The building for STATPHIL must be equipped to accommodate the necessary ICT facilities to support the needs of the PSS. The building may also house the PSRTI, which should be the repository of a centralized data archive of the PSS.

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CHAPTER 4

SUB – NATIONAL STATISTICS

4.1 Status of Sub – National Statistics

4.1.1 Key Players

National Agencies

The devolution of offices and functions to LGUs has not clearly defined their responsibilities concerning statistics. As a result, the national agencies continue to play critical roles in addressing the statistical requirements of the LGUs. As provided for by EO 121, the NSO shall serve as the producer of general purpose statistics which include those that are needed for local level planning. NSO has regional and provincial offices across the country. The Technical Staff of the NSCB has a unit called Sub-national Statistics Office (SSO) which is responsible for the planning, monitoring and coordination of the activities of the regional divisions. At present, the NSCB has ten regional divisions around the country, namely; CAR, Ilocos, CALABARZON-MIMAROPA, Bicol, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, and SOCCKSARGEN. The SRTC continues to help in the statistical capacity-building activities of the LGUs, albeit to a very limited extent in view of the small staff complement of the SRTC.

The MSAs under the line departments of the bureaucracy are also expected by local level clients and stakeholders to address the latter’s requirements. The DA has under it the BAS whose main mandate is the collection, compilation and official release of agricultural statistics. BAS is a staff bureau but it is present in all regions and provinces through its regional and provincial operations centers around the country. The BLES, under the DOLE, was established under EO 126 and is mandated to formulate, develop and implement plans and programs on the labor statistical system.

The other departments and offices which collect and generate statistics in the course of pursuing their mandates also play a role in the local level statistical system.

Local Government Units

The Local Government Code of 1991 paved the way for the devolution of basic powers and functions and thus, for the devolution of the generation of statistics for planning and decision-making. EO 135 states that the generation of provincial, city, municipal and barangay level statistics, which are by-products of administrative reporting systems inherent in administering the devolved basic services, shall be continued by the LGUs consistent with the manner, form and frequency being adopted by the concerned national line agencies.

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Local Councils/Committees

In each region, there is a Regional Development Council (RDC) that coordinates and sets the direction of all economic and development efforts. The RDC is the highest policymaking body in the region and serves as the counterpart of the NEDA Board at the sub-national level. As such, it plays an important role in the sub-national statistical system.

Correspondingly, every region of the country has a RSCC which is principally mandated to oversee the implementation in the region of policy decisions rendered by the NSCB and the adoption of prescribed statistical standard methodologies and classification systems. All statistical activities of the LGU shall be planned and implemented in coordination with the RSCC. The Chair of the RSCC is the NEDA Regional Director who serves as an ex-officio Vice – Chair of the RDC.

The NSCB has established RSCUs in ten regions. These serve as the regional branches of the NSIC. The RSCU serves as the technical staff of the RSCC, with the NEDA regional staff providing this service in regions where there is no RSCU.

The RDC reviews and approves the work program of the RSCC. The RDC takes steps to ensure the implementation of this work program. The RSCCs do not have a seat in the RDC and are therefore not represented in the RDC as regular members. Institutional arrangements vary by region but, in most cases, the RSCC serves as a special committee under the RDC. As such, the RSCC has no voting power in the RDC.

4.1.2 Capacity for Statistical Data Generation

Not all the existing data systems of the MSAs and other data producers of the national government can generate data below regional levels of disaggregation. Data users clamor for local level data and complain about the inadequacy of the products and services available at the MSAs and other data producers of the national government. However, the requisite financial and human resources for statistics required by the LGUs are not being provided to the MSAs and other data producers of the national government. Thus, the Committee deems it important to have committed funds made available for sustaining statistics required by the LGUs. As was pointed out in the previous chapter, a possible source that should be studied further is the IRA.

Based on the regional level consultations with both data producers and users, some provinces and highly urbanized cities have units or persons assigned to look after the LGUs statistical concerns. These units or persons are usually lodged in the planning offices (e.g., provincial/city/municipal planning and development offices). Further, the regional consultations revealed that there are no relevant qualification standards for the personnel assigned to perform statistical functions. With few exceptions, municipalities and smaller cities do not have permanent statistics staff other than the civil registrar whose responsibility is confined to the recording of births, deaths, marriages and similar vital events.

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Within the barangays, personnel such as the Barangay Health Workers were reported as being tasked to fill up administrative reports that are potentially useful sources of statistics. Some Barangay Councils may be keeping population registers and similar information at the behest of agencies like the DILG. However, since these are not officially mandated responsibilities, observance cannot be expected to be complete or uniform across barangays. The lack of training on standard concepts, methods and reporting forms to improve coverage and comparability of the resulting statistics across LGUs and MSAs further limits the usefulness of the information coming from these sources. Thus, it is important to ensure the presence of qualified personnel across government by way of having a certification of Basic Statistical Competency from the proposed PSRTI.

4.1.3 Statistical Data Generation at the Local Level

Services and products from the National Agencies

EO 135 of 1993 aimed to establish a well-coordinated statistical system at the local level, that is, i) responsive to planning and monitoring requirements, and ii) capable of producing statistics that can be integrated and harmonized with statistics being produced at the national level. To address these concerns, the EO has mandated the NSCB to perform or implement its statistical coordination mechanisms, namely: preparation and review of the statistical calendar, statistical survey review, and clearance system and review of data quality.

Before and even after the issuance of EO 135, users of local area statistics have been looking at the national agencies as main sources and providers of data across sectors of the economy. However, due to resource constraints, the PSS’ major agencies have not fully addressed the demand for local area statistics. The RSCUs, which should help in responding to the sub-national data requirements, are present in only ten regions.

There have been recent efforts by the NSCB and the NSO to generate poverty statistics down to the municipal level. However, these continue to be exploratory small area estimation methodology development efforts done with the help of consultants and external funding. Thus, there is no assurance at the moment of their being implemented widely and regularly. In the case of population statistics, the NSO is able to provide data down to municipalities and barangays from its censuses. The latter, however, are conducted every ten years (with mid-decade population censuses on some occasions). The BAS data systems on agricultural production, prices and other related items provide provincial breakdowns but generally not for municipalities and barangays. The BLES has limited primary data collection activities; it relies heavily on NSO surveys for analysis of labor and employment conditions. The BLES official releases also do not go lower than the regions. The NSCB does not do any primary data collection and its own compilations generally are national (e.g., national income accounts) or regional in scope (e.g., regional income accounts). Poverty statistics are the exception where province-level estimates are released, albeit with limitations on their precision.

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Availing or accessing of data from other national agencies that produce data in the course of serving their respective mandates, e.g., DOH, DEPED, CHED, is characterized by similar conditions as described for the MSAs.

Clearly, the sub-national statistics outputs of the national agencies fall short of the growing need of the LGUs for more statistical information at increasingly lower disaggregations.

Administrative reporting systems of the LGUs

LGUs compile administrative records in the course of performing their functions and operations but not necessarily for statistical purposes. These would include, among others, approved building permits which relate to data on new constructions and additions, alterations and repairs of existing structures. The data are taken from the original application forms of approved building permits collected by NSO field personnel from local building officers nationwide. Business permits would be another example. However, these systems are characterized by incompleteness (as in non-reporting of new constructions and renovations and many economic activities in the informal sector) and inaccurate reporting (e.g., undervalued building permits).

The implementation of a barangay level registry can provide LGUs with a better handle on the profile of their population. However, the Review Committee deliberations have not confirmed the real status of barangay level registries. As was earlier noted in Section 4.1.2, such registration system is not being required of all barangays.

Primary data collection by the LGUs

The emergence of initiatives that are supported by national governments or special project donors have put in place primary data collection of specific data items required in the monitoring of households or communities, as in the case of the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) or in the monitoring of the performance of LGUs through the Performance Indicators Systems (PISs). These systems include:

Local Governance Performance Management System (LGPMS) Minimum Basic Needs Survey (MBN) Integrated Rural Accessibility Program (IRAP) Population Development (POPDEV) Indicators Barangay Civil Registration System (BCRS)

The CBMS has come about in response to the demands for information resulting from decentralization, particularly, with respect to the need for a diagnostic tool to assess poverty at the barangay, municipal, city and provincial levels. The system covers 14 core local poverty indicators (CLPI). In early 2003, the National Anti–Poverty Commission (NAPC), through an en banc resolution, directed the LGUs to adopt the CLPI as the minimum set of community–based information for poverty diagnosis and planning and to integrate such information into their local poverty

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monitoring systems and use in the preparation of local level action plans and programs. The DILG then issued a memorandum circular that guided the LGUs in the adoption of the CLPI. In 2005, the NSCB approved the resolution recognizing and enjoining support to the CBMS as a tool to strengthen the statistical system at the local level. The latest MTPDP targeted 2010 for the nationwide implementation of the CLPI. As of March 2008, there were 46 provinces, 32 cities, 451 municipalities, and 11, 758 barangays implementing the CBMS. Capacity building in the collection, processing, analysis and use of the data is being provided by a special pool of trainors from the DILG, NAPC and the CBMS Network Coordinating Team. Some of these initiatives are still in their development stages. A continuing quantitative assessment of the performance of these initiatives is therefore needed if only to form an opinion about their likelihood of success or sustainability. To be included in the assessment would be the quantity and quality of data that the systems can generate. Otherwise, with so many initiatives, it is easy for someone to just let these initiatives develop fully and wish for the problem of lack of local level statistics to be a thing of the past. Similarly, the DILG cannot even compel LGUs to perform specific tasks because the latter are autonomous bodies. Furthermore, performance indicators done by the very units whose performances are being evaluated cannot be expected to be objective or unbiased; hence, these cannot be seriously considered as sources of statistics.

The Performance Indicator Systems that have evolved over time are offshoots of performance measurements implemented by national government agencies, academe, civil society or the LGUs themselves. As such, these have posed some problems in aggregating or organizing the outputs of the measurement systems.

Coping Mechanisms

The regional consultations noted the dependence of local data users on whatever are being made available by the national agencies. To respond to their own statistical requirements, there were LGUs that ventured into statistical activities like censuses and surveys. The stories shared during the regional consultations disclosed issues regarding disparities. For example, during the regional consultation in San Fernando City, an LGU undertook a census of population that came up with results which differed widely from the official results from the CPH, conducted by the NSO.

Nevertheless, in the absence of official data released by national statistical agencies, users of sub–national or local level data have to make do with “unofficial” data.

4.2. Issues on Sub–National Statistics

4.2.1 Increasing Demand for Sub–national Statistics

In all the regional consultations, one recurring theme among the participants was the need for local area statistics. The devolution of policy and decision-making by the Local Government Code has intensified the requirements for local area statistics.

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In anticipation of this demand for statistics, EO 135 was released, but seemingly for some reasons, not all the provisions have materialized or been implemented. One comment from the experts concerns the lack of vision and/or philosophy on what the sub-national statistical requirements are and what it is that had contributed to the PSS’ inability to fully support these information needs of the LGUs. Among the questions or issues related to this are: Are the needs well–defined to guide data producers on what are really needed? Would production of sub-national statistics be worth doing? How will it be sustained? More specifically, in the likelihood that only a small minority of the more than1600 local government units would use a subset of statistics, would the system still produce it for all?

At the same time, it was noted during the consultations that LGUs do not have mandatory positions for statisticians. Therefore, the LGU executives have the option not to have any statistical unit to take care of statistical matters in the LGU. Most of them have exercised this option. LGUs, however, are aware and are complaining about inadequate local level data to make plans and guide policy. There are also sentiments regarding access to and timeliness of these data. Accordingly, these have somehow encouraged the publication and use of unofficial figures at the local level.

Considering the above arguments about the state of demand for sub–national statistics, the restructuring of the PSS becomes necessary in order to improve linkages of national government agencies with the LGUs. This concern is addressed in the proposed PSS structures at the national and sub–national levels. It would also be important that a comprehensive inventory of activities and outputs related to statistics be conducted. This should be a significant milestone as the PSS embarks on improving the sub–national statistical system.

4.2.2 Lack of Statistical Standards for Data Generation

There seemed to be an impression that the problem regarding the use of local area statistics has something to do with quality, which in turn is associated with statistical standards. The consultations noted the disappointments of local data users on such concerns like the disparities in the data of the NSO and the BAS as well as those of data generated by other national agencies and those produced by the LGUs.

Section 4 of EO 135 provides the general framework for the consolidation of data produced by the LGUs. It states that to ensure accuracy, consistency and comparability of statistics among the LGUs, statistical concepts, definitions, techniques and methodologies shall be formulated by the NSCB through the RSCCs with due recognition of conditions and needs at the local level. For some reason, this has not been fully implemented as evidenced by the aggregation problems mentioned during the consultations. And this is being attributed to the apparent lack of standards in handling statistics-related matters. It would then appear that there was no framework to guide the LGUs in managing their administrative records. There is the nagging question about the quality of data coming from administrative records. Issues about completeness and accuracy have been cited in the consultations.

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Another nagging issue is about inconsistencies in data coming from LGUs and national agencies, e. g., school age population, tourism, among others. The definition of urban and rural barangays was another concern for data users.

In response to this issue about statistical standards affecting the quality of data, there should be effective and efficient mechanisms that can enhance the use of statistical standards and classifications at all levels of government. In the proposed PSS structure, the Regional Office of STATPHIL shall be under the administrative supervision of the Assistant National Statistician for Coordination and Standards. More importantly, there should be greater linkages between STATPHIL and the PSRTI in terms of technical assistance and effective and sustainable capacity building on statistics for the LGUs.

4.2.3 Need for Capacity Building at the Local Level

Section 5c of EO 135 states that in order to strengthen the statistical capability of the LGUs, the NSCB, the SRTC and the Local Government Academy shall prepare and implement a statistical manpower development program for the LGUs. No linkages have been developed by these institutions thus far. Apparently, resource constraints hampered the full implementation of this provision of EO 135. In the consultation with officials of various LGU organizations, the lack of and urgent need for capacity building in the LGUs have been emphasized. In particular, a representative of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) underscored the need for training the LGUs on the collection, processing, analysis and use of data. The representative added that proper training on statistics would enable LGUs to share local area statistics with higher levels of government.

However, before training can happen, there have to be people to be trained; and with very few exceptions, the LGUs have not provided for statistical units or statistician positions in their organizations.

The Committee findings have highlighted two important matters for addressing statistics required by LGUs, namely: strongly encouraging LGUs to establish units which shall be responsible for statistics, and the development or training of these LGU personnel on statistics to ensure standards in the collection, analysis and dissemination of statistics.

4.2.4 Other Issues

In one FGD, the Committee noted the statement of a Union of Local Authorities in the Philippines (ULAP) representative that performing statistical functions would be very taxing for the LGUs. In the same FGD, however, the LMP representative said that the decentralization of statistical functions and activities would empower the LGUs. When asked directly whether LGU leaders would be willing to create statistician positions or statistics units, the consensus seemed to be no or not in the short-term; but that much advocacy work will be needed first to convince the LGUs that this route is the most viable way toward establishing permanent statistical capacity that can survive changes in elective leaderships and can be shielded from political interference or pandering.

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The Department of Health (DOH) representative in the FGD raised the issue on the non-reporting of barangay health workers to DOH as a result of the devolution. This has been causing some problems in the comprehensiveness of the coverage, aggregation and timeliness of data release. As mentioned previously in this report, there is no law that specifies that reporting to the DOH is an official responsibility of the barangay health worker. Even in the case of the civil registrars where there is a law that mandates their reporting and where NSO provides technical supervision, reporting is far from complete and statistics from the system (compared to those from sample surveys) are acknowledged to significantly underestimate the true magnitudes of the situation.

The DOH and DA are two departments most affected by the Local Government Code. However, the DOH does not have the equivalent of a BAS that, in DA’s case, continues to produce agriculture and fisheries statistics down to the regions and, in some cases, provinces. Thus, the Local Government Code has had a more negative and significant impact on the flow and production of statistical information in the health sector both at the national and sub-national levels. The relative preponderance of problems on health sector statistics brought to the attention of the Committee during its deliberations adds to this conjecture.

Many problems with education statistics both at the national and sub-national levels have also been brought to the Committee’s attention. One major reason is the splitting of the sector into three agencies, namely, the DEPED up to high school, the CHED for tertiary and higher levels, and the TESDA for vocational training. On top of the inadequacies of statistical systems and capacities in these three agencies, there is the added problem of producing aggregate sector-wide statistics which has not been given the attention it deserves.

The above issues need to be more carefully analyzed, with mechanisms for addressing these issues developed. The proposed PSS restructuring and the resulting linkages can address the specific problems regarding the link between national agencies and LGUs.

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CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter outlines the key findings and recommendations of the 2007 Special Committee to Review the PSS under five broad headings, namely: structure; resources; products and services; data management, archiving and dissemination; and sub-national statistics.

5.1 PSS Structure, Linkages and Legal Framework

Structure

The current overall organization, structure and leadership of the PSS have led to difficulties that hamper efficient statistical operations and effective coordination.

To address these difficulties, the Committee recommends the following:

Primary data collection activities shall be consolidated under a single national agency to be called Statistics Philippines (STATPHIL). STATPHIL shall be headed by a National Statistician with the rank of undersecretary, who will report to the NEDA Director-General, and who shall be considered the country’s foremost authority on statistical matters.

The National Statistician, who shall carry the dual title of Civil Registrar-General, shall be assisted by three deputies of assistant secretary rank: the Deputy National Statistician for Statistics Production, the Deputy National Statistician for Coordination and Standards and the Deputy Civil Registrar-General, with the latter assuming active responsibility for administering the civil registration system, along with the internal administration of STATPHIL.

STATPHIL will be constituted from among the existing personnel of the MSAs engaged in primary data collection and compilation of secondary data, namely, NSO, the NSCB Technical Staff, BAS, and BLES. As such, STATPHIL will effect the integration of systems and personnel involved in primary data collection and compilation of national accounts, thereby addressing identified data gaps and weaknesses in basic data in a more timely fashion.

Inasmuch as STATPHIL will assume the primary data collection activities of BAS and BLES, the latter’s functions will be reoriented toward analysis of primary data collected by STATPHIL, along with administrative data, in support of the requirements of their respective departments (i.e., DA and DOLE, respectively). Thus, BAS and BLES will only retain core technical staffs, with most staff currently engaged in primary data collection transferred to STATPHIL.

All these are envisaged to improve overall coordination, responsiveness, reliability, relevance and timeliness of information. The suggested changes will also improve

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efficiency by lowering the maintenance cost for field offices while maintaining the level of human resources currently available from among the MSAs. Given the legal basis for the current set-up, this recommendation will require legislation (a draft Statistics Act that establishes STATPHIL and defines PSS operations and activities is hereby included in this report as Annex 1).

Statistics policymaking and coordination under the current NSCB is weakened by difficulties in its structur, and in the level and continuity of representation by its

member agencies at governing board meetings.

In place of the NSCB, the Committee recommends the establishment of a seven-member Statistics Policy Council (SPC) which will be the foremost authority to promulgate policy and coordination on all statistical matters in the government. SPC will also serve as the governing board of STATPHIL.

The seven members of the SPC shall consist of an appointive chair and four appointive members, and two ex-officio members, the latter being the head of STATPHIL and the NEDA Deputy Director-General for National Development.

The appointive chair and members will be composed of eminent statisticians, economists, social scientists, or experts from related sciences.

The SPC shall convene a high-level consultative assembly of the major statistics users every six months. This assembly will be composed of the NEDA Director-General and the Secretaries of the following departments: DA, DOLE, DOH, DSWD, DEPED, CHED, DENR, DILG and DBM. A representative of the LGUs and the private sector will also be invited to this assembly. Such an assembly will serve as a forum for soliciting feedback from these data users regarding the relevance of statistics generated by STATPHIL, the coordination mechanisms in place and the emerging sectoral data requirements for effective policy and planning.

SPC’s decisions on statistical matters will be final and executory for the entire PSS.

Research and training support for the PSS has been limited and inadequate, largely because of constraints in the current structure and resources of the SRTC.

The Committee recommends a substantial strengthening of the research and training arm of the PSS to address increasing requirements for statistical training and research as well as to meet emerging needs for a national repository and archive for statistics produced by national and local governments. SRTC shall be upgraded into the Philippine Statistical Research & Training

Institute (PSRTI).

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SPC shall also serve as the governing board of the PSRTI.

PSRTI shall have in-house research and training fellows, following the model of the PIDS and the UN SIAP.

All current SRTC equipment, furnishings and other properties shall be assumed by the PSRTI.

PSRTI will be a non-stock, non-profit government corporation attached to the NEDA for purposes of policy coordination.

Linkages

There is wide scope for improvement in the current inter-agency and multi-sectoral coordination mechanisms to address the various issues and challenges facing the

statistical system.

The Committee recommends that:

SPC shall establish technical committees (TCs), inter-agency committees (IACs) and working groups to assist it in the exercise of its functions, particularly in dealing with technical issues and problems and other related areas of concern.

With guidance from these committees, the SPC shall in turn direct the STATPHIL and PSRTI to conduct and/or coordinate research, training and related activities for resolving technical issues and disseminating statistical materials.

SPC shall draw up a set of guidelines regarding the establishment and dissolution of these committees. The terms of reference of the committees and their respective secretariats should be clearly defined and regularly reviewed.

SPC shall regularly review the composition and work programs of these committees.

Legal Framework

Contents of laws governing statistical operations, including on penal provisions, are outdated and/or limited in scope.

The Committee recommends that:

The draft Statistics Act should contain provisions imposing more stringent penal provisions not only for non-compliance for survey responses but also for breach of confidentiality by parties collecting and having direct access to the data.

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The National Statistician and all staff of STATPHIL shall be required to take a solemn oath to protect confidentiality of private information.

5.2 PSS Resources

Budgetary resources to support the PSS have been perennially inadequate, with no primary entity championing budget advocacy for statistics.

The Committee recommends that:

Budgetary resources required for implementing the PDS should be guaranteed by legislation (e.g., through the draft Statistics Act), subject to oversight by the SPC and by Congress, if necessary.

The National Statistician shall be the primary champion to represent the entire PSS with the executive and legislative branches on budgetary allocations for statistics generation, especially for the PDS.

A multi-year budgeting framework for statistical activities, including censuses and regular surveys, shall be formulated and implemented.

Close coordination must be effected among PSS national agencies in the sourcing of funds from the donor community, both local and foreign:

― A review of the design of donor-funded activities for the statistical system shall be conducted on a regular basis.

― An Office for Planning & International Affairs within STATPHIL will take responsibility for such concerns and will regularly report to the SPC on the status of such a review.

Human resources with appropriate training and competence to support the needs of the PSS have been in short supply, compounded by the PSS’s lack of capability to

upgrade its existing personnel capacities.

In the short to medium term, i.e., within the next five to ten years:

Selected staff from the PSS should be provided scholarship opportunities on a competitive basis to pursue graduate degrees in statistics. The PSS should target sending at least one hundred of its personnel for master’s degrees in statistics and at least twenty personnel for Ph.D. in Statistics in the next ten years.

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Meanwhile, the proposed PSRTI must be equipped to conduct, in consultation with STATPHIL, massive training programs to meet technical requirements of statistical agencies, including among the LGUs.

The PSRTI should issue a Certification of Basic Statistics Competence to individuals who have completed any one of the following:― An undergraduate or graduate degree in Statistics from a higher-educational institu-

tion duly recognized by the Commission on Higher Education or equivalent interna-tional higher-educational institutions;

― At least 90 hours of training on sampling, descriptive statistics, and statistical infer-ence, conducted by PSRTI or equivalent international statistical training institutes, duly-recognized academic centers of excellence or centers of development in statis-tics;

― Passing PSRTI comprehensive examinations on sampling, descriptive statistics, and statistical inference.

Eventually, technical personnel of statistics units of departments and LGUs should have PSRTI certification of Basic Statistics Competence.

Customized training programs should also be conducted by PSRTI for other training clients in the national and local governments, the private sector and the international community based on demand.

In support of this, training fellowships must be made available for PSRTI staff who will be developing training materials and leading in the conduct of trainings. The PSRTI, however, may also seek the assistance of resource persons from the academe, STATPHIL, and other data producers for its training programs, especially when in-house expertise is not available.

Toward the improvement of the attractiveness and retentive capacity of the PSS for technically skilled human resources:

There is need to further study the current Scientific Career System to improve its responsiveness to the needs of the scientific community, in general, and of the PSS, in particular.

The SPC and STATPHIL may study the possibility of having salaries of their personnel exempted from the salary standardization law.

The current workforce of the statistical agencies need to be evaluated in relation to their multiple assignments.

There is also need for careful review of qualification standards and the performance evaluation scheme for PSS personnel, particularly those occupying technical positions.

A research track could be developed through the Research Fellowship positions at the PSRTI that can provide an alternative and potentially more professionally rewarding avenue for trained statisticians to assist the PSS.

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A mechanism for temporary secondment of technical statistics personnel from other agencies to PSRTI for the purpose of undertaking research and/or training should be developed.

To address the longer term, the Committee recommends that:

Deliberate steps should be taken in coordination with the DEPED and the CHED to improve statistics literacy and expand the pool of statistical human resources.

DEPED should develop mechanisms for incorporating basic statistics concepts in both the primary and secondary education curriculum.

CHED should ensure that all college students take at least a three-unit Basic Statistics course, and provide mechanisms for promoting the quality of statistics education. College students should also be provided exposure to government statistics.

Resources have been scarce for undertaking research and development in statistics, especially to address data gaps and methodological issues.

The Committee recommends substantial strengthening of research and development capability within the PSS:

The proposed PSRTI should be provided an ample endowment fund and appropriate level of staff resources.

STATPHIL should have its own Office for Methodology and Analysis to support its data production functions. The office will undertake researches that seek to develop first-level analysis or improve the efficiency of primary data collection activities and other operations of STATPHIL.

On the other hand, PSRTI researches should pertain to more advanced analysis of the results of STATPHIL’s statistical activities as well as methodological and applied researches in emerging statistical concerns in various sectors such as education, health, science and technology, among others.

Five-year research programs should be jointly developed by PSRTI and STATPHIL, updated annually to accommodate emerging needs of the PSS. The program must be developed upon consultation with statistics producers and users in national government aside from STATPHIL, with local government units, the academic community, and other stakeholders of statistics and statistical research.

Regular consultation with the public and private sectors should be conducted to improve the usefulness of statistics, with information on the planned changes in the concepts and methodologies, including revision policies presented and discussed. Discussions should focus on methodological issues such as coverage, consistency or accuracy of different sources of data aside from the issue on the

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appropriateness or inappropriateness of particular statistics to evaluate specific policy concerns, e.g., indicators for measuring or tracking progress of the MDGs.

Statistical research should be enhanced through ensured adequacy of hardware and software facilities and increased capacities of statistical personnel. Collaboration with the academe should also be strengthened. To be responsive to the PSS research and training requirements, the proposed PSRTI will need very substantial injections of more resources, particularly technical human resources.

There is also need to enhance dissemination and utilization of research outputs in the PSS, especially outputs pertaining to concepts and statistical methodologies. Beyond dissemination of the research outputs, there should be a mechanism to monitor the utilization of these statistical research outputs.

Inferior physical facilities have had implications on data and personnel security, staff retention, and accessibility to data users.

The Committee recommends a considerable improvement in the physical facilities for the PSS:

An appropriately equipped building for STATPHIL should be provided at the soonest time possible upon its establishment and integrated into the Medium Term Public Investment Plan (MTPIP) and Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and annual budget of the national government.

Appropriate equipment must be provided to ensure efficient quality control of its data collection and effective data dissemination.

A comprehensive information and communication technology (ICT) plan should be developed and regularly updated that includes a detailed plan for improving hardware and software facilities of the PSS for support of statistical activities, including dissemination.

5.3 Statistical Products and Services

There is need to improve accuracy and reliability of statistics, which is particularly urgent in the national income accounts and external transactions accounts.

As cited in the IMF ROSC Report,6 there is an urgent need to address identified shortcomings and inconsistencies in data sources and statistical techniques,

6International Monetary Fund (IMF), Philippines: Report on the Observance of Stan-dards and Codes—Data Module, Response by the Authorities, and Detailed Assess-ments Using Data Quality Assessment Framework, IMF Country Report No. 04/281, August 2004.

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particularly relating to macroeconomic statistics useful for economic analysis and policymaking. In this regard, the Committee recommends the following:

Significant inconsistencies and contradictions being raised concerning the national income accounts data (e.g., vis-à-vis the FIES and MISSI) need to be urgently addressed and satisfactorily cleared. Efforts should be intensified to improve inter-sectoral data consistency and reconciliation in the compilation of national accounts.

There must be stronger coordination among agencies concerned with national income accounts, external transactions and the services sector, with a focus on the generation of primary data.

There is likewise need for more effective coordination between the unit that compiles the national income accounts and the units engaged in primary data collection, to ensure that proposed recommendations in the survey design are implemented. An effective feedback mechanism needs to be put in place to achieve this.

Stronger collaboration by concerned agencies at the technical level is crucial, with a focus on the harmonization of primary data.

Concrete mechanisms to improve timeliness in the availability of establishment surveys needed in the compilation of national accounts should be put in place.

Migration of the national accounts to the 1993 SNA of the UN and moving of the price series to a more recent base year (say 2000, or preferably 2003) should be accorded highest priority by the PSS.

Rebasing of the national accounts and other economic indices should be done regularly and in a synchronized manner.

Data gaps should be addressed to make the accounts reflect the current state of development in the economy. Input-output tables must be updated regularly, at least every three years.

Concerned statistics agencies need to constantly interact with users of statistics, e.g., provide fora where economists and statisticians can discuss improvements on particular input data and methodologies. A strong and active multi-sectoral Technical Committee on National Accounts should be established.

Under the Committee’s recommended structural set up, compilation of the national accounts shall be undertaken by STATPHIL under a distinct unit dedicated for that purpose.

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With some statistical agencies being supervised by government departments that implement programs, there are apprehensions that the collection, processing and

reporting of some statistics may be subject to undue political influence.

Integrity of statistics should be ensured at all times and should be free of political influence, whether perceived or real. In this regard, and as indicated earlier in section 5.1, the Committee recommends the following:

All primary data generation for the PDS shall be consolidated under STATPHIL.

Statistical units of concerned departments/agencies will be limited to analysis and interpretation of the data and conduct of special purpose statistical activities. In case of the latter, surveys undertaken must secure proper clearance under the Survey Review Clearance System to be instituted by the SPC and STATPHIL.

Field data collection practices employed are archaic, and in the case of some establishment-based surveys, may have even retrogressed.

The Committee recommends the following:

New and emerging data collection methods should be explored and applied in the conduct of surveys such as computer-assisted data collection, recent innovations in computerized data collection, web-based data collection methods, and real-time data capture methods.

Comprehensiveness and representativeness of samples used in surveys conducted by the PSS should be ensured through the most appropriate and practical designs.

Linkages with the private sector and industry associations which are providers of information, should be maximized.

The SSRCS should be enhanced to eliminate duplication and ensure that best practices are followed when designing and conducting surveys within the PSS.

Studies should look into the question of balancing sample size, sampling design, costs and PSS resources; i.e., harness survey sampling theory and methods to optimize cost-effectiveness of data collection activities.

The Office for Methodology and Analysis under STATPHIL and the PSRTI should ensure that regular evaluations of surveys are made to ensure data quality.

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Concerns have been raised that revisions in designs, concepts, definitions or methodologies in the statistics released to the public are not accompanied by

adequate explanatory or technical notes.

The Committee recommends that:

SPC should develop policies concerning such revisions and ensure a wide release of ample corresponding explanatory and technical notes.

Parallel runs of the old and the new series should be maintained for a reasonable length of time to allow assessment of the comparability and consistency of the estimates.

Having both BAS and NSO engaged in the generation of agriculture and fisheries statistics has led to a number of undesirable effects on the national agricultural

database.

Under the Committee’s recommended structural set up,

Responsibility for the entire agricultural database will be consolidated under STATPHIL.

Primary data generation staff of the BAS shall be integrated into STATPHIL.

Response rates of major censuses and surveys in the PSS have been affected by the burden of responding and reporting to them, leading to much delayed responses and

poor quality data.

To improve response rates of surveys and enhance quality of data obtained therefrom, questionnaires for key surveys need be streamlined to minimize response burden.

Penalties for non-compliance to surveys conducted by STATPHIL need to be reviewed and updated.

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Data end users at the sub-national level clamor for greater frequency and lower-level disaggregation of particular surveys/indicators, and for certain data outside of PDS.

To address these concerns of stakeholders,

STATPHIL should devise mechanisms to ensure responsiveness to data needs of various sectors at the national and sub-national levels, including ― assigning City/Municipal Statistics Officers (MSOs) for every

city/municipality, tasked to provide necessary technical assistance, and― identifying a simpler set of economic indicators that LGUs can track.

Methodological studies need to be undertaken to redesign surveys and look into the question of balancing sample size, sampling design, costs and PSS resources; i.e., harness survey sampling theory and methods to address demands for small area statistics.

The Philippine Designated Statistics (PDS) may be revisited more frequently to realign it to changing statistical information needs and priorities at the national and sub-national levels.

Problems of misrepresentation or misuse of statistics by LGUs occur, usually associated with incentives for gaining access to subsidies, calamity funds or donor

resources.

STATPHIL and other data producers will have to develop strategies such as training and awareness creation programs among LGUs to ensure their proper use of statistics.

Some government surveys do not go through the Statistical Survey Review and Clearance System (SSRCS) provided by NSCB to evaluate and certify to the

methodological soundness of government surveys.

The SPC, upon establishment, should issue a circular to all government agencies

on the SSRCS and specify sanctions for making public results of surveys that have not undergone the clearance system. Henceforth, it should also regularly issue circulars constantly reminding government agencies about the system.

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5.4 Data Management, Archiving and Dissemination

Certain data users have found difficulty in accessing statistical data either directly from statistical agencies or through the Internet.

The Committee recommends taking deliberate measures to further enhance the accessibility of statistical information in all forms of dissemination, especially via the websites of STATPHIL and other data producers. In particular:

The utilization of ICT must be maximized in the delivery of statistical products and services.

Websites must be configured to provide easy and fast access to useful information.

More one-stop information centers should be established, including at the sub-national levels.

MSAs must publish comprehensive metadata along with their regularly released statistics at all times. STATPHIL, once established, must continue this practice.

Public use files (PUFs), i.e., micro-level data must be produced and made available in forms useful to various types of researchers, and at affordable cost.

Release calendars containing information on when, where and what statistics will be released must be issued widely.

Adequate training in website development, maintenance and updating; packaging, promotion and dissemination of statistical publications, products and services; and improvement of statistical databases should be programmed for personnel maintaining them.

The acquisition of necessary computer facilities, including software and other equipment, should be ensured through regular budgetary provisions to STATPHIL and PSRTI.

The appropriate resource support must be provided to the concerned agencies to facilitate the above.

Concerns have been raised on the tardiness and unsynchronized release of data estimates and publications at the national and sub-national levels.

To address these concerns:

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Timely availability of data both at the national and sub-national levels should be ensured and synchronized.

Advance release calendars of statistics covered by these systems should be maintained in the websites of agencies responsible for data subjects of these standards/systems.

Standard guidelines and procedures must determine decisions on content and scope including quality of official statistics to be published.

Official statistics must be objective and made available to the general public at the time these are needed, following the concept of “public good” while protecting the privacy of individuals.

The MSAs have been hampered from implementing their individual agency archives by physical storage constraints and high costs of maintaining off site archive

locations.

The Committee recommends revisiting the archiving policies and guidelines based on NSCB Resolution No. 11, Series of 2002, considering technological advancements, centralized location as well as security measures. The SPC, through STATPHIL, should revise and strictly enforce prescribed systems and procedures for archiving. In the short term, the following are required:

NSO to continuously improve archiving of old publications of censuses and surveys, especially the census data files,

BLES to discuss with the PIDS or the BSP on the establishment of their off site archive, and

NCSB and BAS to improve their respective archiving systems.

For the medium to long term,

Monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the revised policies on archiving should be done on an annual basis by the SPC,

STATPHIL should be provided a new building equipped to accommodate the necessary ICT facilities to support its archiving and warehouse requirements, apart from its personnel,

The building may also house the PSRTI, which should be the repository of a centralized data archive of the PSS, and

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STATPHIL and PSRTI should be provided the necessary budgetary provisions for the necessary computer facilities, including software and other equipment.

5.5 Sub-national Statistics

The MSAs are currently unable to fully support the statistical requirements of the LGUs in the face of increasing demand for sub-national statistics.

The Committee recommends restructuring the PSS to improve linkages of national government agencies producing statistics with the LGUs (refer to the proposed PSS structures at national and sub-national levels in section 5.1):

In the short term, the LGUs should be provided technical assistance by STATPHIL and the PSRTI to build capacities for generating comparable and sustainable statistics as well as for analyzing these statistics.

A manual for data collection for the LGUs and for specific sectors should be developed as part of this technical assistance to include proposed data items to be collected, appropriate sample size and sampling methodologies for surveys, human resource and financial requirements, and utilization plans for these statistics.

There is lack of statistical standards for data generated by LGUs, with problems arising from aggregation of LGU data from both primary data and administrative

reports, as these are not directly comparable.

Adherence to statistical standards and maintenance of data quality should be enforced in the restructured PSS:

Regional Offices of STATPHIL shall be under the administrative supervision of the Assistant National Statistician for Coordination and Standards.

More linkages will need to be developed by STATPHIL and PSRTI in the area of technical assistance to LGUs on statistics.

Not all LGUs possess an operating unit or personnel responsible for statistics.

Eventually, all LGUs must establish operating units/personnel to take responsibility for statistics:

The restructured PSS should provide for the development/training of personnel working on statistics at the national and sub-national levels. In line

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with this, the LGU statistics personnel will have to obtain Certificates of Basic Statistical Competence from the PSRTI.

A committed fund for data collection activities, similar to those in Statistics Canada, should be established to ensure sustained funding sources for statistics required by the LGUs. One possible source that should be studied further is the internal revenue allotments (IRAs).

5.6 Concluding Remarks

A reliable body of data and statistics is a vital prerequisite to sound development plan-ning and nation-building. While the 2004 IMF Report on the Observance of Stan-dards and Codes noted the generally strong legal and institutional frameworks and solid methodological foundations of the PSS, it also called attention to the urgent need to improve accuracy and reliability, particularly in macroeconomic data vital to eco-nomic analysis and policymaking. The most serious deficiencies identified related to the national accounts and the balance of payments, both of which are among the most prominent economic statistics watched by the general public. More effective inter-agency cooperation and greater focus on developing good primary data were seen as key imperatives.

In its intensive and extensive examination of the PSS undertaken over ten months of rigorous consultations, research and deliberations, the Review Committee has af-firmed that strengthening the PSS hinges on strengthening and rationalizing the peo-ple and institutions making up the system. Consistent with the IMF findings, consoli-dation of primary data collection in a strong Statistics Philippines (STATPHIL) is seen as a critical step in addressing the system’s shortcomings. Strengthening capa-bilities for small area statistics through statistics-capable local governments will en-sure a solid foundation for the country’s information base. Building a strong statistics research and training capability through the proposed Philippine Statistical Research and Training Institute (PSRTI) will provide depth and sustainability to the system. And professionalizing the entire statistics infrastructure under the leadership of a Sta-tistical Policy Council (SPC) composed of the best minds in Philippine statistics will ensure a world-class statistical system marked by integrity, competence, efficiency and responsiveness to the quest for broad-based development of the Filipino nation.

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Annex 1

PHILIPPINES STATISTICS ACT

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Title. This Act shall be known as the “Philippine Statistics Act of 2008.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policies. The State recognizes the importance of statistics as a strategic resource of the country and therefore it shall be the policy of the State to establish and maintain a statistical system that will:

a) provide adequate, accessible, consistent, timely, reliable and relevant statistics to guide the planning and decision-making processes of the government, pri-vate sector and general public;

b) develop and maintain a national statistics program characterized by indepen-dence, objectivity and integrity;

c) promote efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of statistical services; andd) support decentralization through the establishment of the statistical infrastruc-

ture necessary to service the current and emerging statistical needs for local development planning.

Toward these goals, the State shall effect the necessary and proper changes in the organizational and functional structures of the Philippine Statistical System (PSS), herein referred to as the “PSS.” In addition, the State shall develop and strengthen the capacity of the country’s statistical system through the provision of adequate human, technical and financial resources to achieve the objectives set forth under this Act.

SECTION 3. Objectives. The objectives of this Act are as follows:a) To provide direction and promote the orderly development of the PSS;b) To provide active cooperation between the general public and private sectors

in the provision of accurate data;c) To enhance the capacity of data producers in the PSS to come up with the nec-

essary statistical series for development planning, policy analysis and deci-sion-making in the government and private sectors;

d) To promote the appreciation of all segments of society on the value and im-portance of statistics;

e) To develop and disseminate statistical concepts, methods, techniques and in-formation technology to various users in the government and private sectors; and

f) To continually upgrade the statistics profession to enhance its contribution for the advancement of statistics.

SECTION 4. Reorganization of the PSS. The PSS, consisting of all statistical organizations at all administrative levels in government, the personnel therein and the national statistical program, which was re-organized under E.O. 121, shall be further reorganized under this Act to improve its efficiency and effectiveness in meeting demands for statistics by way of consolidating primary data collection activities under a single agency. The rationale for the consolidation of primary data collection includes improved responsiveness; coordination; reliability, relevance and timeliness

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of information; and efficiency without increasing the current number of human resources available among major statistical agencies and with less maintenance cost for field offices. The limited government resources made available for statistical activities can thus be more cost-effectively utilized. Coordination is expected to improve by way of integrating systems and personnel involved in primary data collection and the compilation of national accounts, with identified data gaps and weakness in basic data addressed in a more timely fashion.

To address increasing requirements for statistical training and research as well as to meet emerging needs for a national repository and archive for statistics produced by national and local governments, the research and training arm of the PSS shall also be strengthened. The operations of both the consolidated data collection agency and the PSS research and training arm will be governed by a policy council. To address the emerging needs of local government units (LGUs) on statistics for local development planning, the infrastructure of the statistical system at the sub-national level will be developed and strengthened. In the short term, statistics will be generated from censuses and sample surveys conducted by the consolidated data collection agency. This agency will be assisting other statistics producers of the national government and statistics units of LGUs in the systematic generation and analysis of statistics for evidence-based policy and planning. In the long run, a statistics cadre will be developed across the government bureaucracy, with departments of the national government and LGUs at both the provincial and municipal levels setting up statistics units.

SECTION 5. Statistics Philippines. A national organization called Statistics Philippines, herein referred to as STATPHIL, shall be established and will be responsible for all national censuses and surveys, consolidation of selected administrative recording systems and compilation of the national accounts. The STATPHIL shall be constituted from among the existing personnel of the major statistical agencies engaged in primary data collection and compilation of secondary data, i.e., the National Statistics Office, herein referred to as “NSO”, the Technical Staff of the National Statistical Coordination Board herein referred to as “NSCB”, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, herein referred to as “BAS” and the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics, herein referred to as “BLES”. STATPHIL will be under the administrative supervision of the National Economic and Development Authority, herein referred to as “NEDA.”

The Department of Labor and Employment, herein referred to as “DOLE”, and the Department of Agriculture, herein referred to as “DA”, are to maintain their core technical staff, i.e., BLES and BAS, respectively, but with their mandates oriented toward the analyses of primary data collected by STATPHIL, along with administrative data in their respective departments. Thus, BAS and BLES will only retain core technical staffs, with most staff currently engaged in primary data collection to be transferred to STATPHIL.

The Department of Economic Statistics of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will continue to take charge of banking and financial statistics, including the Balance of Payments and flow of funds.

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SECTION 6. Functions of STATPHIL. The STATPHIL shall have the following functions:

a) serve as the central statistical authority of the Philippine government on pri-mary data collection ;

b) collect, compile, analyze, abstract and publish statistical information relating to the country’s economic, social, demographic and general activities and con-dition of the people;

c) prepare and conduct periodic censuses on population, housing, agriculture, fisheries, business, industry, and other sectors of the economy;

d) prepare and conduct statistical sample surveys on all aspects of socio-eco-nomic life, including agriculture, industry, trade, finance, prices and marketing information, income and expenditure, education, health, culture, and social sit-uations for the use of the government and the public;

e) carry out, enforce and administer civil registration functions in the country as provided for in Republic Act No. 3753 (Civil Registration Systems Act);

f) collaborate with departments of the national government in the collection, compilation, maintenance and publication of statistical information, including special statistical data derived from the activities of those departments;

g) promote and develop integrated social and economic statistics and coordinate plans for the integration of those statistics, including the national accounts;

h) develop and maintain appropriate frameworks and standards for the collection, processing, analysis and dissemination of data;

i) coordinate with government departments and LGUs on the promotion and adoption of statistical standards involving techniques, methodologies, con-cepts, definitions and classifications, and on the avoidance of duplication in the collection of statistical information;

j) conduct continuing methodological, analytical and development activities, in coordination with the Philippine Statistical Research and Training Institute (PSRTI), to improve the conduct of censuses, surveys and other data collec-tion activities;

k) recommend executive and legislative measures to enhance the development of the statistical activities and programs of the government;

l) prepare, in consultation with the Statistics Policy Council, a Philippine Statis-tical Development Program for approval of the President of the Republic of the Philippines; and

m) implement policies on statistical matters and coordination, as directed by the Statistics Policy Council.

SECTION 7. Statistics Policy Council. A Statistics Policy Council, an autonomous body, herein referred to as “SPC”, shall be promulgating policy and coordination on all statistical matters in the government. Its decisions on statistical matters shall be final and executory for the entire PSS. It shall review and provide certification of the quality of designated statistics. It shall also review the budget of STATPHIL . As such, the SPC will serve as the governing board of STATPHIL. The SPC will consist of an appointive chair and four appointive members, all part-time, serving a tenure of three years (without prejudice for reappointment). These persons are expected to be eminent statisticians, economists, social scientists, computer scientists, preferably Ph.Ds or with at least masters degrees, representing the following indicative areas:

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Agriculture, Environment, Industry, Trade, Finance, Infrastructure and National Accounts;

Population & Demography, Health, Education, Welfare, Labor, Employment and other Socio-Economic Sectors;

Census and Survey Design, and Analysis; Theoretical Statistics and Statistical Modeling; Statistical Information System and Information Technology.

In addition to the appointive chair and four appointive members, the SPC will have two other members, the National Statistician, who heads STATPHIL, and the NEDA Deputy Director-General for National Development, both of whom will serve as ex-officio members. The SPC is to meet at least once a month. Per diems and allowances for all appointive and ex-officio members of the SPC shall be as determined by the SPC subject to existing laws, rules and regulations on the matter. A majority of the five appointive members of the SPC shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the SPC.

SECTION 8. Powers and Functions of the SPC. The SPC shall:a) formulate policies on all matters relating to government statistical operations,

standards, classifications and coordination;b) prescribe designated statistics and statistical activities, which will be the

sources of official statistics for government policy, planning and decision-making processes, including their periodicities, disaggregation and release cal-endar;

c) distribute responsibilities for the designated statistics to STATPHIL and other government agencies;

d) review the statistical programs of the departments and agencies of the national government and the LGUs and confer with and advise these government orga-nizations on matters relating to such statistical programs;

e) review and clear, prior to release, the budget of STATPHIL and the Philippine Statistical Research and Training Institute;

f) serve as governing board of STATPHIL and the Philippine Statistical Re-search and Training Institute;

g) conduct a performance audit of STATPHIL and the Philippine Statistical Re-search and Training Institute and submit these to the President of the Republic of the Philippines through the NEDA Director-General;

h) approve the Philippine Statistical Development Program;i) recommend executive and legislative measures to enhance the development

and efficiency of the PSS, including the internal structure of statistical agen-cies;

j) formulate appropriate mechanisms for statistical coordination at all adminis-trative levels of government; and

k) provide clearance to the conduct of censuses and surveys undertaken by na-tional government agencies and LGUs.

SECTION 9. Organizational Structure of STATPHIL. The STATPHIL shall be headed by the National Statistician, who shall be assisted by a Deputy National Statis-tician for Statistics Production, a Deputy National Statistician for Coordination and Standards, and a Deputy Civil Registrar-General. The Deputy National Statistician for Statistics Production shall supervise two Assistant National Statisticians (with

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salary grade 28), for the following areas: Macroeconomic Statistics and Social and Agriculture Statistics; while the Deputy National Statistician for Coordination and Standards shall supervise the Assistant National Statistician for Planning and Stan-dards and the Assistant National Statistician for Coordination. The Deputy Civil Reg-istrar-General shall oversee the work of the Assistant Civil Registrar-General and the Assistant National Statistician for Administrative Affairs (both with salary grade 28). The Assistant Civil Registrar-General shall administer over the Office for Civil Regis-tration Operations and the Office for Civil Registration Advocacy & Research while the Assistant National Statistician for Administration shall oversee the Office for Ad-ministrative Services and the Office for Financial Services. The Assistant National Statistician for Macroeconomic Statistics shall oversee the Office for Industry, Trade and Services Statistics, the Office for National Accounts and the Office for Adminis-trative Reporting Systems. The Assistant National Statistician for Social & Agricul-ture Statistics shall supervise the Office for Agriculture & Environment Statistics and the Office for Socio-economic & Demographic Statistics. The Assistant National Statistician for Planning and Standards shall oversee the Office for Policies and Stan-dards and the Office for Planning & International Affairs. Meanwhile, the Assistant National Statistician for Coordination shall handle the Office of SPC Affairs as well as the Regional Offices. The National Statistician shall supervise in-house services, including the Offices for Information and Dissemination Services, for Methodology and Analysis, for Legal Services, and for Internal Audit. Each of the staff offices of the STATPHIL shall be headed by a Director IV with at least one (1) Assistant Direc-tor and may have such divisions as are necessary to carry out their respective func-tions, subject to review by the SPC.

The organizational structure of STATPHIL is shown in Figure 1.

SECTION 10. National Statistician. The STATPHIL shall be headed by a National Statistician of undersecretary rank (with salary grade 30). He/she must be a career official, preferably with experience in the management of data collection and with a Ph.D. or at least a Masters degree in Statistics, appointed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines from a nominations and selection process described in Section 14. The National Statistician is to serve a fixed term of five years, renewable once. Upon completion of his/her term, he/she shall enjoy twice the benefits provided for by laws on compulsory retirement. The National Statistician shall perform the following duties:

a) direct and supervise the general administration of STATPHIL;b) prescribe rules and regulations, instructions, schedule and form of business of

the STATPHIL in the collection, compilation and dissemination of statistics and other information and in the conduct of any census;

c) provide overall directions in the implementation of the Civil Registry Law and related issuances and exercise technical supervision over the Local Civil Reg-istrars as Civil Registrar General;

d) direct and manage the implementation and execution of policies, standards, rules and regulations formulated by the SPC;

e) submit a report to the President of the Republic of the Philippines through the NEDA Director-General on the activities of the STATPHIL in the preceding year. Such report shall also be submitted separately in the annual report to Congress during the presentation of the President’s budget;

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f) coordinate with the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission and the Secre-tary of the Department of Budget and Management on the setting up and up-dating of minimum qualification standards as well as the standardization of classification, position, functions and salaries of statistics personnel of the government;

g) coordinate with the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology on the application of the Scientific Career System to statistics personnel of the government;

h) issue appointments of STATPHIL personnel below the rank of Director; andi) represent STATPHIL as signatory to all contracts, researches and other

awards.

SECTION 11. Deputy National Statistician for Statistics Production. To assist the National Statistician in providing overall directions in the production of macroeconomic, agriculture and social statistics, a Deputy National Statistician for Statistics Production with an assistant secretary rank (salary grade 29) shall be appointed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines. He/she must be a career official, with experience in the management of data collection and/or the compilation of the national accounts. He/she must have at least a Masters degree in Statistics. The Deputy National Statistician for Statistics Production shall perform the following duties:

a) formulate policies and guidelines in the conduct of censuses and surveys;b) take charge of the production of administrative-based statistics for the eco-

nomic sector;c) formulate policies and guidelines in the compilation of the national accounts;

andd) formulate strategies to enlist technical and financial support from national and

international organizations in the development of survey designs and method-ologies.

SECTION 12. Deputy National Statistician for Coordination and Standards. To assist the National Statistician in providing overall directions in planning for the production of statistics and formulation of standards and adherence thereof, and in implementing coordination within the System and among its stakeholders, a Deputy National Statistician for Coordination and Standards with an assistant secretary rank (salary grade 29) shall be appointed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines. He/she must be a career official, with experience in the management of data collection and/or formulation of statistical standards. He/she must have at least a Masters degree in Statistics. The Deputy National Statistician for Coordination and Standards shall perform the following duties:

a) take charge in developing and implementing guidelines regarding horizontal and vertical coordination on statistics matters;

b) formulate strategies to enlist technical and financial support from national and international organizations in the development of indicator systems, classifica-tions and standards, and conceptual frameworks on emerging concerns and in-formation systems;

c) formulate policies and guidelines regarding the extension of technical assis-tance on statistics matters to other national government agencies, LGUs and international government agencies; and

d) coordinate the technical requirements of STATPHIL Regional Offices.

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SECTION 13. Deputy Civil Registrar-General. To assist the National Statistician in providing overall directions in the areas of civil registration and general administration, a Deputy Civil Registrar-General with an assistant secretary rank (salary grade 29) shall be appointed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines. He/she must be a career official, with experience in the management of the civil registration system. He/she must have at least a Masters degree. The Deputy Civil Registrar-General shall perform the following duties:

a) formulate policies and guidelines on civil registration and general administra-tion;

b) lead in the preparation of development plans in the areas of civil registration and general administration;

c) monitor and evaluate the implementation of development plans in the areas of civil registration and general administration;

d) assist the National Statistician in the implementation of the Civil Registry and related issuances;

e) formulate guidelines in the conceptualization and promotion of the agency’s capability building and consulting services on civil registration;

f) formulate strategies to enlist technical and financial support from national and international organizations in the improvement of the civil registration system;

g) formulate policies and guidelines in the extension of technical assistance on civil registration matters to other local and national government agencies, in-cluding those in the legislature, judiciary, academic and constitutional bodies, and to international government agencies;

h) formulate policies and guidelines aimed toward achieving internal efficiency in the agency;

i) formulate policies and guidelines for the preparation, implementation, moni-toring and evaluation of gender and development programs of the agency;

j) provide directions in the formulation of procedures for human resource devel-opment, including personnel selection and development; and

k) recommend to the National Statistician guidelines in the efficient use and eq-uitable distribution of resources.

SECTION 14. Selection of SPC members, National Statistician, Deputy National Statisticians and Deputy Civil Registrar-General. The SPC Chairperson and its four appointive members as well as the National Statistician, the Deputy National Statistician for Statistics Production, the Deputy National Statistician for Coordination and Standards, and the Deputy Civil Registrar-General will be selected by the President of the Republic of the Philippines from among a list of nominees submitted by a Search Committee composed of representatives of the Philippine Statistical Association, the University of the Philippines Diliman School of Statistics, the University of the Philippines-Los Baños Institute of Statistics, the Department of Economic Statistics of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and NEDA. In case of a vacancy in the appointive membership of the SPC, the successor who shall be appointed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines and nominated by the remaining SPC members, shall serve only the unexpired term; provided, that if the remaining SPC members do not constitute a majority, the appointment shall be done by the President of the Republic of the Philippines from a list of nominees provided by the Search Committee.

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Figure 1. Organizational Chart of Statistics Philippines

Director, Department of Methodology &

Analysis

Statistics Policy Council

National Statistician (and Civil Registrar-General)

Deputy National Statistician for Statistics

Production

Deputy National Statistician for

Coordination & Standards

Assistant National Statistician, Social

& Agriculture Statistics

Director, Industry, Trade & Services

Statistics

Director, National Accounts

Director, Administrative

Reporting Systems

Director, Agriculture & Environment

Statistics

Director, Socioeconomic &

Demographic Statistics

Assistant National Statistician,

Macroeconomic Statistics

Director, Policies & Standards

Director, Planning & International

Affairs

Assistant National Statistician, Planning & Standards

Director, SPC Affairs

Assistant National Statistician,

Coordination

Directors, Regional Offices

Deputy Civil Registrar-General

Director, Civil Registration Operations

Director, Civil Registration Advocacy & Research

Director, Administrative

Services

Director, Financial Services

Assistant Civil Registrar-General

Assistant National Statistician,

Administrative Affairs

Director, Department for Information & Dissemination

Services

Director, Internal Audit

Director, Department Legal

Services

STATISTICS PHILIPPINES

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SECTION 15. Philippine Statistical Research & Training Institute (PSRTI). The Statistical Research and Training Center, herein referred to as “SRTC”, established under E.O. 121, shall be abolished, and the Philippine Statistical Research & Training Institute, herein referred to as “PSRTI” will be set up in its stead. All SRTC equipment and furnishings shall be transferred to the PSRTI upon abolition of the former. The PSRTI shall be considered a non-stock, non-profit government corporation attached to NEDA for purposes of policy coordination.

SECTION 16. Functions of PSRTI. The PSRTI shall be expected to carry out the following functions:

develop a comprehensive and integrated research and training program on the theo-ries, concepts and methodologies for the promotion of the statistical system;

undertake research on statistical concepts, definitions and methods; promote collaborative research efforts among members of the academic community,

data producers and users; conduct non-degree training programs to upgrade the quality of statistics personnel

and expand the statistics human resource base in support of the needs of the PSS; implement graduate scholarship programs in Statistics for PSS staff; provide financial and other forms of assistance to enhance statistical research and de-

velopment, and training; and develop an archive for the orderly and systematic storage of statistical information,

especially results of primary data collection activities of the PSS.

SECTION 17. PSRTI President, Vice-President and Governing Board. The PSRTI shall be headed by a President with an equivalent rank of Assistant Secretary (with salary grade 29), who shall be nominated by the Statistics Policy Council (SPC) and appointed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines. The PSRTI President should preferably have a Ph.D. in Statistics or at least a Masters degree in Statistics. The SPC shall serve as the PSRTI Governing Board and as such, shall meet at least every semester to discuss and formulate policies for the management and operations of the PSRTI. The PSRTI shall provide the requisite allowances to its Governing Board subject to existing laws, rules and regulations on the matter.

SECTION 18. PSRTI Fellows and Associates. The PSRTI shall be authorized to engage professionals as Fellows (with salary grades ranging from 26 to 28) and Associates (with salary grades ranging from 24 to 25) for purposes of conducting training sessions and researches for the PSRTI. Fellows should have experience in research or training and should preferably have earned a Ph.D. in Statistics, Economics, Social Sciences, Computer Sciences or related disciplines while Associates should have earned at least a Masters degree in the said fields. Those so engaged by the PSRTI shall be issued appointments and shall be paid fees as determined by the PSRTI, and as approved by the PSRTI Governing Board.

SECTION 19. PSRTI Endowment Fund. The existing SRTC Endowment Fund is to be transferred to the PSRTI and shall serve as the initial PSRTI Endowment Fund. The PSRTI is authorized to accept into its Endowment Fund any contributions, donations, bequests, grants and loans from domestic and/or foreign sources, government appropriations and other incomes accruing from the operations of PSRTI, for purposes of

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executing its mandate/functions. There is hereby appropriated out of any fund in the National Treasury or other sources not otherwise appropriated, the sum of at least 20 million pesos per year for ten years in order to augment the PSRTI Endowment Fund.

SECTION 20. PSRTI Operating Funds. There is hereby appropriated and programmed for immediate release out of any unappropriated balances in the National Treasury or other sources the amount of 50 million pesos as the initial operating fund of the PSRTI. For succeeding years, the PSRTI shall submit for approval of the PSRTI Governing Board an annual financial plan. The approved financial plan shall be the basis for determining the national government’s contribution to finance the PSRTI research and training activities.

SECTION 21. PSRTI Research Program. A joint statistical research program shall be developed by the PSRTI and STATPHIL every five years, with such program updated annually. The program is to be developed upon consultation with statistics producers and users in the national government aside from STATPHIL, the LGUs, the academic community and other stakeholders of statistics and statistical research. Researches that seek to develop first-level analysis or improve the efficiency of primary data collection activities and other operations of STATPHIL are to be undertaken by its Methodology and Analysis Office. PSRTI researches will pertain to more advanced analysis of results of STATPHIL statistical activities as well as methodological and applied researches in emerging statistical concerns in various sectors such as education, health, science and technology, among others.

SECTION 22. PSRTI Training Program. Regular statistical training programs are to be developed by the PSRTI in consultation with STATPHIL. Customized training programs are also to be conducted by the PSRTI for other statistical training clients in the national and local governments, the private sector and the international community based on demand.

SECTION 23. PSRTI Certificate of Basic Statistical Competence. The PSRTI will issue a Certification of Basic Statistical Competence to individuals who have completed any one of the following:

An undergraduate or graduate degree in Statistics from a higher educational insti-tution duly recognized by the Commission on Higher Education or equivalent in-ternational higher educational institutions;

At least 90 hours of training on sampling, descriptive statistics and statistical in-ference conducted by the PSRTI or equivalent international statistical training in-stitutes, duly-recognized academic centers of excellence or centers of develop-ment in statistics;

Passing PSRTI comprehensive examinations on sampling, descriptive statistics and statistical inference.

SECTION 24. PSRTI Organizational Structure. To carry out the PSRTI daily operations, the PSRTI President will be assisted by the Vice President (who directly manages the PSS Archives Division), an Administrative Services Division and two Departments(Training Department, and Research and Information Technology Department) as shown in Figure 2 below. The Research and IT Department will consist

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of a Research Division and an Information Technology Division. The Training Department, which will consist of a Training Operations and Evaluation Division as well as a Training Design and Materials Development Division, will take responsibility for the PSRTI Certification of Basic Statistical Competence.

Figure 2. Organizational Chart of PSRTI

SECTION 25. Technical Committees, Inter-agency Committees and Working Groups. The SPC may establish technical committees, inter-agency committees and working groups to assist the SPC in the exercise of its function, particularly in dealing with technical issues and problems on statistical matters and other related areas of concern. Upon guidance of these committees, the SPC may direct the STATPHIL and the PSRTI to conduct and/or coordinate research, training and related activities for resolving technical issues and disseminating statistical matters. These committees and working groups established by the SPC shall be entitled to allowances and other benefits that the Department of Budget and Management may allow.

SECTION 26. Philippine Designated Statistics. A core set of priority statistics required for social and economic planning/analysis statistics, and henceforth called the Philippine Designated Statistics (PDS) is to be identified by the SPC. The SPC shall also issue the rules and regulations for the implementation of the PDS, including the types, scope, coverage and dissemination of these statistics. Primary data collection activities for

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Statistics Policy Council

Office of the President(Assistant Secretary Level: SG 29)

PSRTI Fellows (Research and Training Fellows: (SG 26-28/Associates 24-25)

Office of the Vice President(SG 28)

PSS Archives Dvision(IT Officer III: SG 24)

Research and IT Department(Director II: SG 26

Training Operations and Evaluation Division

(Statistician V: SG 24

Research Division(Statistician V: SG 24

Training Design and Materials Development

Division(Statistician V: SG 24

Information Technology(Statistician V: SG 24

Administrative Services Division Chief

(Administrative Officer: SG 24)

Training Department(Director II: SG 26)

generating the PDS are to be either implemented or outsourced by STATPHIL. There shall be guaranteed appropriations for budgets of these primary data collection and other activities for designated statistics, subject to oversight of the SPC and Congress, with post audit by the Commission on Audit. The PDS is deemed official and shall be made available to the public according to a statistical calendar. The SPC shall periodically review the relevance of the PDS to the requirements of national development vis-a-vis the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan and shall issue modifications/revisions to the PDS as warranted. Respondents of primary data collection activities such as censuses and sample surveys covered by the PDS are obliged to give truthful and complete answers to statistical inquiries under penalties of imprisonment for one month to a year, and/or with fines set by the SPC of at least five thousand pesos for individual respondents, and at least fifty thousand pesos for small and medium enterprises, and at least five hundred thousand pesos for other establishments. Individuals/institutions preventing the conduct of designated statistics or making false representations shall be punished by imprisonment of five to ten years with corresponding fines set by the SPC of at least one hundred thousand pesos for individuals and at least one million pesos for institutions, with operations of these institutions suspended for six months. STATPHIL, through its Office for Legal Services, will monitor and work toward the sanctioning, on behalf of the SPC, of any such non-compliance.

SECTION 27. Censuses. In the interest of national patrimony and in compliance with the international commitments of the Republic, the State shall provide the necessary support and appropriation for the conduct every ten years of a comprehensive census of population and housing, henceforth called the CPH, and census of agriculture and fisheries, henceforth called the CAF. The CPH shall be conducted in the month of May of the year 2010 and every tenth year thereafter in a month to be fixed by theSPC. The CPH shall be conducted in such a manner as to ensure that counts of the population are provided for each barangay, as constituted at the time of each census year. The CAF shall be conducted two years after the conduct of each CPH in a month to be fixed by the SPC. Upon recommendation of the SPC to the President of the Republic of the Philippines through the NEDA Director-General, inter-census surveys, and surveys of non-population and agriculture and other important areas of concern may be undertaken by the STATPHIL. Other census-type activities and those included in the PDS such as the Census of Philippine Business and Industry, henceforth called the CPBI, the Mid-Decade Census of Population, and the like may be undertaken by the STATPHIL at any time and Congress will have to provide guaranteed appropriations to support such activities upon certification of urgency by the President of the Republic of the Philippines. Defining the type(s) of census(es), the year(s) it(they) should be conducted and the dissemination arrangements on the results of the census(es) shall be made through a Presidential Executive Order.

SECTION 28. Sample Surveys. Sample surveys in support of the PDS shall be conducted by STATPHIL, upon authority of the SPC. Sample surveys may also be conducted by other data producers for purposes of generating sectoral statistics that are not part of the

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PDS through a Survey Clearance System described in Section 31. The data producer is required to maintain the following core information of these surveys:

Title of the Survey

Statement of Purpose and Objective

Population and Geographic Coverage

Sample Size

Statistical Methodology

Timing and Frequency

Particulars about Executing Agency

Date of Public Dissemination of Survey Results

and to provide an effective mechanism for their dissemination.

SECTION 29. Administrative Reporting/Registration Forms. STATPHIL and other government institutions may generate useful statistical information from data available from administrative reporting/registration forms. Data from administrative reporting/registration forms which are considered public document may be quoted without fear of violation of the confidentiality of information proviso of this Act. Public access to these forms shall be guaranteed under this Act. The originating institution, however, may charge nominal fees to cover the costs of reproducing these forms.

SECTION 30. Confidentiality of Information. Individual data furnished by a respondent to statistical inquiries, surveys and censuses of STATPHIL shall not be used as evidence in court or any legal judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings whatsoever. STATPHIL may release aggregated information from statistical inquiries, surveys and censuses. STATPHIL may also prepare microdata from statistical inquiries or survey form/questionnaire/schedule for purposes of research, with care to ensure that identities of a particular person, business or organization will not be disclosed in whatever form. The National Statistician and all staff of STATPHIL shall take a solemn oath regarding confidentiality of information. Parties within STATPHIL who breach the confidentiality of information, whether by carelessness, improper behavior, behavior with malicious intent, and use of confidential information for profit, are considered guilty of an offense and liable to fines prescribed by the SPC, not less than ten thousand pesos, and/or imprisonment of three months to five years, subject to the degree of breach of information.

SECTION 31. Survey Clearance. The current system of statistical survey clearance is to be continued. That is, all government institutions, both national and local government instrumentalities, are to request clearance from the STATPHIL for the conduct of surveys that are not within the scope of responsibility of STATPHIL at least 45 days prior to the conduct of the survey. The STATPHIL is expected to expeditiously act on such requests

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for clearance. This clearance system shall include surveys contracted out by government agencies to private institutions and non-government organizations. Excluded from clearance are all surveys conducted by government agencies for internal use only. Any research, publication or public document utilizing results from surveys that have not undergone survey clearance are to issue appropriate disclaimers. Researches, publications and public documents that do not issue disclaimers will be subjected to fines set forth by the SPC. STATPHIL, through its Office for Legal Services, will sanction parties in violation of such prescribed disclaimers.

SECTION 32. Non-designated Sectoral Statistics. National and local government institutions, including government controlled corporations, may generate special sectoral statistics consistent with their mandated tasks. Sectoral statistics should, however, be undertaken under the direct supervision of a statistical officer duly certified by the PSRTI with a Certificate of Basic Statistical Competence. The executing agency should submit to STATPHIL the resultant statistical reports. Databases should be given to the PSRTI for inclusion in the central data archive.

SECTION 33. Statistics for LGUs. The generation of provincial, city, municipal and barangay statistics which are by-products of administrative reporting systems inherent in administering the devolved basic services shall be continued by the LGUs consistent with the manner, form and frequency being adopted by STATPHIL and the concerned national line agencies. For the generation of other statistics with sub-national disaggregation, the SPC shall designate which of the statistics are to be generated by STATPHIL and the national agencies or by the local government or jointly by the national and local governments. In cases where these will require the conduct of surveys and other undertakings for the purpose of producing local level statistics, LGUs shall share in the cost of said surveys.

SECTION 34. Announcement and Dissemination. STATPHIL shall be responsible for the preparation of the medium term and annual Philippine Statistical Program that contains a detailed calendar of the schedule of activities in support of the PDS. The Program should provide for the specific dates when respondents are expected to be visited by statistical enumerators in the case of censuses and surveys and the specific dates when the results of the activities will be made available for dissemination. The release of the PDS shall be made by STATPHIL and other data producers through a press conference scheduled in accordance with the Philippine Statistical Program. The Philippine Statistical Gazette shall be the official medium for announcing the availability for public use of designated statistics. The Gazette shall be published at least monthly by the STATPHIL.

SECTION 35. Sale of Products and Services. The STATPHIL and PSRTI shall be allowed to levy fees for its services (technical assistance and information service) and products at costs approved by the SPC. Fees collected shall be placed under trust and

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proceeds shall be used exclusively to augment resources provided for statistical research and human resource development programs of the STATPHIL and PSRTI.

SECTION 36. Statistics Cadre. The STATPHIL shall assign at least one statistical officer in each national executive office (department level). The statistical officer shall be responsible for providing technical assistance in order to insure proper implementation of statistics policies promulgated by the SPC. The STATPHIL shall have divisions at each province and highly urbanized city. These offices shall be responsible for providing technical assistance on statistics to the provincial, city and municipal governments. This technical assistance includes training of city, municipal, and barangay data collectors. The heads of these offices will be the point persons for all censuses, surveys and other data collection conducted by STATPHIL. These offices shall be equipped to process basic data from STATPHIL databases into province and municipal level-useful tabulations. Statisticians of these offices will help identify minimum basic data needs for cities, municipalities and provinces (starting with what is available from the LGUs and major statistical agencies of the national government), design and produce a statistical database for the municipalities and a statistics brochure. All LGUs are encouraged to establish their respective statistical units to enable effective statistics generation, but they shall be responsible for the recruitment/appointment of statistical personnel. Personnel of such LGU statistical units should obtain a Certification of Basic Statistical Competence from the PSRTI. The Chiefs of the LGU statistical units shall comply with the reporting/monitoring requirements imposed by the STATPHIL division heads of the provincial statistical offices. Local chief executives may also designate someone in each barangay to be responsible for data collection required to update a minimum set of statistics and indicators. The STATPHIL division heads of the provincial statistical offices will also exercise technical supervision over the municipal civil registrars, including training and supervision of barangay data collectors of vital events.

SECTION 37. PSS Linkages. The STATPHIL and PSRTI are to be linked with other national government agencies and instrumentalities, and LGUs by way of the organizational linkage shown in Figure 3.

SECTION 38. Improvement of Statistical Literacy. Toward the improvement of literacy in statistics and the increase of statistical human resources, the Department of Education (DEPED) and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) are to work with STATPHIL and the PSRTI. The DEPED shall develop mechanisms for incorporating basic statistics concepts in both the primary and secondary education curricula. The CHED shall institute reforms to ensure that all college students take at least a three-unit Basic Statistics course as well as provide mechanisms for promoting the quality of this statistics education.

SECTION 39. Statistics Vision 2020. By 2020, all departments of national government, government-owned and controlled corporations, and LGUs are encouraged to have

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established statistics units in their respective organizations to provide statistical information for policy and program formulation. The magnitude of these units shall depend on the extent of statistical operations in the institution. The personnel in these statistical units should have a Certification of Basic Statistical Competence from the PSRTI.

SECTION 40. Abolition of Existing Government Bodies. The NSCB, NSO and the SRTC are to be abolished and their appropriations, records and properties, if any, and such personnel as may be necessary shall be transferred to the STATPHIL and PSRTI.

SECTION 41. Transitory Provision. Upon approval of this Act, a task force should be created to carry out the requisite transition for the recommendations set forth therein. This task force should consist of an undersecretary of the Department of Budget and Management as chair, with the following members: a Commissioner of the Civil Service Commission, the NEDA Deputy Director General for National Development Office, the NSCB Secretary-General, the NSO Administrator, the BAS Director, the BLES Director, the SRTC Executive Director, the BSP Director of the Department of Economic Statistics, the Dean of the UP Diliman School of Statistics, and the Director of the UP Los Banos Institute of Statistics. The task force shall be charged with the following functions:

a) prepare a more detailed organizational structure of STATPHIL and PSRTI, in-cluding the corresponding human resource complement;

b) prepare qualification standards for these human resources;

c) review the qualifications of existing personnel of the NSO, NSCB, BAS, SRTC and BLES to determine who will be considered to fill the positions at STATPHIL and PSRTI; and

d) prepare the transfer of real property, equipment and other capital and financial as-sets (including unspent appropriations) of the NSO, NSCB, BAS, SRTC and BLES to STATPHIL and PSRTI following arrangements mutually agreed upon by these institutions.

Within six months after the approval of the legislation for effecting the restructuring, the task force shall submit, for approval of the President of the Republic of the Philippines, the Implementing Rules and Regulations. In the interim, and pending approval by the President of the Republic of the Philippines of the Task Force recommendations, the NSCB, NSO, SRTC, BLES and BAS shall continue to discharge their respective mandates. No personnel movement, except those scheduled for compulsory retirement, shall be allowed. Any personnel, whose position is not included in the new position and staffing patterns of the STATPHIL, PSRTI, BLES and BAS shall be deemed separated from the service and shall be entitled to whatever benefits allowable by law.

SECTION 42. Operating Fund. For the effective implementation of the provisions of this Act, an amount of three billion pesos, exclusive of operating expenses for conducting

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the PDS, shall be made available to STATPHIL, upon its establishment, by the national government. In addition, a committed fund of one billion pesos on non-census years, and three billion pesos on census years shall be guaranteed by the national government in the first five years after establishment of STATPHIL as operating expenses for primary data collection activities of the PDS. Thereafter, such sums needed to carry out the provisions of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 43. Fund for Reorganization. Appropriate amounts shall be allocated to carry out the reorganization of the affected agencies as provided for in this Act.

SECTION 44. Separability Clause. If any part, section or provision of this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, no other parts, sections or provisions thereof shall be affected thereby.

SECTION 45. Repealing Clause. Executive Order No. 121 and other laws, decrees, ordinances, rules, regulations, other issuances, or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 46. Effectivity Clause. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved,

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Figure 3. PSS Linkages

NEDA Director General

Statistics Policy Council

Local Government Units

Provincial and Highly Urbanized Cities Statistics Offices

Municipal and Cities Statistics Offices

Philippine Statistical Research & Training Institute

(PSRTI)

LEGEND:administrative linkpolicy linkcoordination link

Statistics Philippines(STATPHIL)

Regional Statistical Offices

Provincial/Highly Urbanized Cities Statistics Offices

Other Statistics Producers (National)

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Annex 2

Chronology of Events on 2007 Creation of Special Committee to Review the PSS

1. 20 October 2004: The NSCB approved the creation of a Task Force (TF) to come up with a collective position re Executive Order 366 with the Statistical Research and Training Center as Chair.

2. October 2004 – August 2005: Task Force meetings were held.

3. 18 May 2005: The report of the TF was included in the agenda, but for lack of time (due to many items calendared for discussion), the report was not presented. However, the Chair, NEDA Director General (DG) Santos asked for comments from the members.

4. 19 October 2005: The TF report was presented and discussed. A resolution creating the Special Committee to Review the PSS was presented by the Task Force Chair. Based on the argument that funding is vital for the operationalization of the Committee’s activities, DG Santos, as NSCB Chair, then remarked that approval be deferred until such time that source of funds would have been ascertained. SRTC was tasked to prepare and submit a budget proposal.

5. October 2005 – January 2006: SRTC prepared the budget proposal for the activities of the Special Committee.

6. January 2006: NSCB provided comments on the budget proposal.

7. February 2006: NSCB forwarded letter to the DBM endorsing the budget proposal (with comments); the budget proposal was also submitted to NEDA for possible funding.

8. February – August 2006: Meetings were held to discuss budget proposal by SRTC with DBM, BSP and PIDS.

9. 14 August 2006 : NSCB forwarded letter to BSP regarding request for funds.

10. 14 February 2007: Establishment of the Committee was approved in principle pending the availability of funds. The resolution was thus approved with the provision to revise it to reflect that funds shall be requested from BSP, PIDS and DBM.

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Annex 3

Technical Committees (TCs) and Corresponding Technical Working Groups (TWGs)

1. TC on Population and Housing Statisticsa) TWG on Mortality Statisticsb) TWG on Housing and Household Statistics

2. TC on Price Statisticsa) TWG on Producer Price Index and Related Indicesb) TWG on Consumer Price Index and Related Indicesc) TWG on Rationalization of Price Data Collection Activitiesd) TWG on Wholesale Price Index for Construction Materialse) TWG on Wholesale Price Index (General), Retail Price Index and Related

Indices

3. TC on Seasonal Adjustment of Philippine Time Seriesa) TWG on Seasonal Adjustment of Philippine Time Series

4. TC on Statistical Standards and Classificationsa) TWG on Philippine Central Product Classificationb) TWG on Philippine Standard Commodity Classificationc) TWG on Philippine Standard Geographic Classificationd) TWG on Philippine Standard Industrial Classificatione) TWG on Philippine Statistical Classification on Educationf) TWG on Philippine Standard Occupational Classification

5. TC on Survey Design

6. TC on Poverty Statistics

Inter-Agency Committees (IACs) and Corresponding TWGs

1. IAC on Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry Statisticsa) TWG on Agricultural Cropsb) TWG on Livestock and Poultryc) TWG on Fisheriesd) TWG on Forestry

2. IAC on Foreign Direct Investments Statistics

3. IAC on Labor, Income and Productivity Statisticsa) TWG on Labor and Employment Statistics

4. IAC on Tourism Statisticsa) TWG on Tourism Statistics

5. IAC on Health and Nutrition Statisticsa) TWG on Health and Nutrition Statisticsb) TWG on Persons with Disability Statistics

124

6. IAC on Gender Statisticsa) Task Force on Data Assessment

7. IAC on Education Statisticsa) TWG on Functional Literacy

8. IAC on Science and Technologya) TWG on the Development of Science and Technology Statistics and

Indicatorsb) TWG on Research and Development Satellite Accounts

9. IAC on Trade Statisticsa) TWG on Trade-in-Goodsb) TWG on Trade-In-Services

10. IAC on Information and Communications Technology Statistics

Task Forces

1. TF on the Measurement of E-Commerce

2. TF on the Integrated System of Establishment Inquiries

3. TF on the Development of Hunger Index

4. TF on Overseas Filipino Statistics

5. TF on the Preparation of a Rationalization Plan for the PSS

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Annex 4

List of Surveys that have undergone the Statistical Survey Review and Clearance SystemSector/Topic Name of Survey Frequency of Conduct Responsible Agency

Agriculture and Fishery

Agricultural Labor Survey Annual for coconut and sugarcane; semestral for palay and corn

BAS

Backyard Livestock and Poultry Survey

Semi-annual BAS

Census of Agriculture and Fisheries

Decennial NSO

Census of Dairy Enterprises One-shot PCC, NDA, DTRI, & BASCoconut Farmers Data Bank One-shot PCACoconut Production Survey Quarterly BASCommercial Livestock and Poultry Survey

Semi-annual BAS

Census of Fisheries Evaluation Survey

One-shot SRTC

Commercial Stocks (Rice and Corn) Survey

Monthly BAS

Costs and Returns Survey One-shot BASFarm Prices Survey Monthly BASField Survey on the Extent of Agricultural Lending Activities of NGOs and Cooperatives

One-shot ACPC

Monitoring of Animals Slaughtered in Abattoirs -Survey Based

Daily/monthly BAS

Palay and Corn Stocks Survey

Monthly BAS

Rice and Corn Production Survey

Quarterly BAS

Socio-Economic Assessment of the Viability of the Apiculture Industry

One-shot NARTDI-DMMSU

Education Expanded Tracer Study of SY 2000-2001 Post-Secondary Graduates

Every other year TESDA

Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey

Every 5 years NSO

Impact Evaluation Study (IES) of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Programs

On-shot TESDA

Tracer Study of Graduates of Job Directed Scholarship Programs Implemented in 2005

One-shot TESDA

Energy Household Energy Consumption Survey

One-shot DOE & NSO

Environment Solid Waste Management Profile Survey

One-shot EMB

Survey on Environmental One-shot NSCB & NSO

126

Sector/Topic Name of Survey Frequency of Conduct Responsible AgencyProtection ExpendituresSurvey of Private Forest Plantations in Central Visayas

One-shot DENR 7

Survey and Registration of Protected Area Occupants

One-shot PAWB-DENR

Health and Nutrition Baseline Survey on Mental Illnesses in the Philippines

One-shot UP-PGH Psychiatrist' Foundation, Inc.

Child Health Survey Annual NSOMaternal and Child Health Survey

Annual NSO

Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey

One-shot UNICEF & NSO

Family Planning and Reproductive Health Baseline Survey

One-shot Philippine Population Assn, Inc & UNFPA

National Nutrition Survey Every 5 years FNRI-DOSTNational Prevalence Survey of Skin Diseases Among Filipinos

One-shot Research Institute for Tropical Medicine

Nutritional Status of Filipino Children at the Provincial Level

One-shot FNRI-DOST

Sub-Regional Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey

One-shot NSO & UNICEF

Updating of Nutritional Status of Filipino Children

Every 2-3 years FNRI-DOST

Income and Prices Cereals and Fertilizer Prices Monitoring

Weekly BAS

Commodity and Outlet SurveyFamily Income and Expenditures Survey

Every 3 years in 2 visits NSO

Farm Prices Survey Monthly BASProducer's Price Survey Monthly NSORetail Price Monitoring BASSurvey of Retail Prices of Commodities Commonly Bought by an Average Household in the Philippines for the Construction of the Consumer Price Index

Monthly NSO

Survey of Retail Prices of Goods and Services Consumed by Foreign Nationals in Metro Manila for the Construction of the Consumer Price Index for Foreign Nationals

Quarterly NSO

Survey of Retail Prices of Selected Commodities in Metro Manila for the Construction of the Retail Price Index

Monthly NSO

127

Sector/Topic Name of Survey Frequency of Conduct Responsible AgencySurvey of Wholesale Prices of Selected Commodities in Metro Manila for the Construction of the Wholesale Price Index

Monthly for non-food NSO

Wholesale Price Monitoring Varying BAS Industrial Sector Annual Survey of

Construction Projects of Local Governments

Annual NSO

Annual Survey of Establishments

Annual NSO

Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry

Annual NSO

Business Expectations Survey

Quarterly BSP

Census of Establishments Every 5 years NSOCensus of Philippine Business and Industries

Infrequent NSO

Consumer Expectations Survey

Quarterly BSP

DTI-MIS Industry Survey Monthly DTIIndustrial Clustering: A Case Study of Greater Manila Area

One-shot PIDS

Input-Output Survey of Establishments

Infrequent NSO

Input-Output Survey of Philippine Business and Industry

Infrequent NSI

Listing of Frame for the Conduct of Annual Survey of Establishment

Annual NSO

Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries

Monthly NSO

Monthly Survey of Production

Monthly NSO

Quarterly Survey of Establishments

Quarterly NSO

Quarterly Survey of Philippine Business and Industry

Quarterly NSO

Survey on Contracting Activities in Philippine Business and Industry

One-shot NSO

Survey on Domestic Suppliers

Annual BDTP

Survey of Export Sales and Business Outlook

One-shot NSO

Survey on Industrial Development in the Philippines

One-shot PIDS & NSO

Survey of Key Establishments in Manufacturing

Monthly NSO

Survey of the Metalworking Every 5 years MIRDC

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Sector/Topic Name of Survey Frequency of Conduct Responsible AgencyIndustry – Heat Treatment SectorSurvey of the Metalworking Industry – Tool and Dye Sector

Every 5 years MIRDC

Survey of the Metalworking Industry – Machine Shop Industry

Every 3 years MIRDC

Survey of the Metalworking Industry – Metal casting Industry

Every 3 years MIRDC

Survey of Philippine Industry and the Asian Financial Crisis

One-shot NSO & WB

Updating of the List of Establishments

Annual NSO

Value Chain Analysis on Holiday Decor

One-shot BDT

Labor and Employment

Census on Employment in Forest-Based Industries

One-shot FMB

BLES Integrated Survey Annual BLESEvaluation of the 1999 Nutrition Month Celebration Employment and Asset Structure Survey of Cooperatives

Annual CDA

Employment and Wage Structure Survey

Every 5 years BLES

Employment, Hours and Earnings Survey

Quarterly BLES

General Survey on Labor Organization

Every 3 years BLES

Industrial Relations at the Workplace Survey

Every 3 years BLES

Labor Cost Survey Every 3 years BLESLabor Force Survey Quarterly NSOLabor Turnover Survey Quarterly BLESNeeds Analysis for the Displaced Workers of PANTRANCO

One-shot BRW

Occupational Wages Survey Every 2 years BLESPhilippine Labor Flexibility Survey

One-shot BLES & ILS

Quarterly Survey of Employment and Compensation of Local Gov't

Quarterly NSO

Quarterly Survey of Employment and Compensation of National Gov't

Quarterly NSO

Study on Discrimination at Work

One-shot BWYW

Study on the Problems, Issues, Needs and

One-shot BWYW

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Sector/Topic Name of Survey Frequency of Conduct Responsible AgencyAspirations of Young WorkersSurvey of Children 5 - 17 Years Old

As the need arises ILO/NSO/BLES

Survey on Occupational Injuries (Household-Based and Establishment-Based)

One-shot NSO

Survey on Overseas Filipinos

Annual NSO

Survey on the Utilization of Grievance Machinery

One-shot NCMB-DOLE

The Role of Women Trade Union Leaders in Industrial Relations

One-shot BWYW

A Study on the Working and Living Conditions of Sugar Plantation Workers in Negros and Panay Provinces

One-shot BRW

Population and Housing

Census of Population and Housing

Decennial NSO

Census Evaluation Survey Decennial NSOFamily Planning Survey Annual NSOListing of Households for the National Demographic Survey

NSO

National Demographic and Health Survey

Every 3 years UNICEF & NSO

Safe Motherhood Survey (No clearance requested) NSOPublic Administration An Assessment of Statistical

Manpower in GovernmentOne-shot SRTC

A Sequel Study on the Status of Filipino Women in Policing

One-shot NAPOLCOM

Census of Government Personnel

One shot CSC

LGU/GIS Profile One-shot NAMRIASurvey for the Users of Annual Financial Report

One-shot COA

Science and Technology

Survey on Laboratory Testing Services

One-shot DOST & NSO

Survey of Research and Development Expenditures and Human Resources: Government, Higher Education, Private Non-Profit Sector

Biennial DOST

Survey on Research and Development Personnel

Biennial DOST & NSO

Survey on the Level of Computerization in the

Annual NCC

130

Sector/Topic Name of Survey Frequency of Conduct Responsible AgencyGovernment

Social Services Annual Poverty Indicator Survey

In years without FIES NSO

Barangay Management Information System

Annual BIDANI

Baseline Survey and Data Generation on Nutritional Status, Psycho Social Development and Care of 0-6 Year Old Children in ECD Areas

One-shot FNRI

City of Mandaluyong Comprehensive Demographic and Socio-Economic Survey

One-shot Kapka International Foundation

Community-Based Monitoring System

Every 3 years DILG

Gender Responsive Indicator Household Survey

One-shot Provincial Govt of Compostela Valley

Philippine Elderly Survey One-shot Population Institute

Pilot Study on the Measurement of Progress of Phil. Society

Pilot NSCB

Pilot Test- Monitoring Barangay Basic Services and Facilities

Annually DILG

Pilot Survey on the Diagnosis of Indigenous Peoples' Rights in Selected Ancestral Domains in the Philippines

Pilot CHR, NCIP, NSO & NSCB

Special Survey on Socio-Demographic and Living Conditions of ECOZONE Workers

One-shot NCRFW & NSO

Survey on Socio-Economic Profile of Filipino Households Survey of Children 5-17 Years Old

One-shot NSO & ILO

Tourism Meetings, Incentives, Convention and Exhibition (MICE) Study

Monthly Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation

Social Acceptability Survey for Samal Island Tourism Estate Project

One-shot DOT

Study on Regional Travel in the Philippines: Surveys A, B and C

MonthlyAnnuallyMonthly

DOT

Visitor Sample Survey Monthly DOT

Transportation and Communication

Air Passenger Systems Survey

DOTC

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Sector/Topic Name of Survey Frequency of Conduct Responsible AgencyFast Ferry Passenger Origin-Destination Survey

2 time: peak and lean season

DOTC

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Survey

Annual NCC

LGU ICT Status Survey One-shot CICT / NCC - FOO

Person Trip Survey/Household Interview Survey

On-shot DOTC

Survey on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) of Philippine Business and Industry

Annual NSO

Others 15.1 Evaluation of the 1999 Nutrition Month Celebration

One-shot NNC

15.2 Landstrip Reavalidation Survey Along the Aguinaldo Blvd. Area

One-shot Public Estates Authority

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Annex 5

List of Designated Statistical Activities and StatisticsSector or Topic /

ActivityResponsible /

Implementing Agency Frequency of ConductGeographic

DisaggregationSchedule of Data

DisseminationWith Advanced Release

Calendar Agriculture, Fishery and Agrarian ReformCensus of Agriculture and Fisheries 

NSO every 10 years national, regional, provincial, municipal

6 months after survey conduct (preliminary) /2 years after survey conduct (final)

Rice and Corn Survey BAS Quarterly national, regional, provincial

40 days after the reference quarter /

Seasonally Adjusted Palay Production

BAS Quarterly national 40 days after the reference quarter /

Backyard Livestock and Poultry Survey

BAS Quarterly national, regional, provincial,

45 days after the reference quarter /

Commercial Livestock and Poultry Survey

BAS Quarterly national, regional, provincial

45 days after the reference quarter /

Palay and Corn Stocks Survey

- Household stocks

BAS, National Food Authority

Monthly national, regional, 15 days after the survey conduct (preliminary)

/45 days after the survey (final)

Palay and Corn Stocks Survey

- Commercial stocks

BAS, National Food Authority

Monthly national, regional, 15 days after the survey conduct (preliminary)

1/45 days after the survey (final)

Commercial Fish Catch Survey

BAS Monthly national, regional, provincial

2 months after the reference month /

Municipal Fish Catch Survey 

BAS Marine - every other day

national,regional, provincial 

2 months after the reference quarter

/Inland - quarterlyGeneration of Data on Land Holdings and Land Transfer

Department of Agrarian Reform

Quarterly national, regional, provincial

1 month after the reference quarter

O

133

Sector or Topic / Activity

Responsible / Implementing Agency

Frequency of Conduct Geographic Disaggregation

Schedule of Data Dissemination

With Advanced Release Calendar

EducationFunctional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey

NSO every 5 years national, regional, provincial

1 year after the reference year

/Generation of Basic Education Statistics

Department of Education

annual national, regional, provincial

1 year after the reference year /

Literacy Rate   

NSO  

every 5 years, national, 1 year after the reference year

X

FLEMMS regional      18 months after the

reference yearevery 10 years, CPH national, regional,

provincial, city 

Energy and Water ResourcesGeneration  of Data on Power/Energy Production and Consumption

DOE monthly national 6 months after the reference month

/Environment and Natural ResourcesGeneration of Mineral Statistics

Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau

quarterly, annual national, regional, provincial, municipal

quarterly - 2 months after the reference quarter; annual - 6 months after the reference year 1/

Generation of Forest Resources Statistics

Forest Management Bureau

quarterly, annual national, regional, provincial

quarterly - 2 months after the reference quarter; annual - 6 months after the reference year /

Generation of Land Area Statistics

Lands Management Bureau

quarterly national, regional, provincial

1 month after the reference quarter O

134

Sector or Topic / Activity

Responsible / Implementing Agency

Frequency of Conduct Geographic Disaggregation

Schedule of Data Dissemination

With Advanced Release Calendar

Income and PricesFamily Income and Expenditures Survey 

NSO every 3 years national, 18 months after the reference year

/regional, provincial, key cities

Survey of Retail Prices of Commodities for the Consumer Price Index - Agriculture

BAS, NSO monthly national, regional, provincial

5 days after the reference month

/Survey of Retail Prices of Commodities for the Consumer Price Index - Non-Agriculture

BAS, NSO monthly national, regional, provincial

5 days after the reference month

XSurvey of Retail Prices of Commodities for the Retail Price Index

NSO monthly NCR 35 days after the reference month

XSurvey of Wholesale Prices of Commodities - Agriculture

BAS, NSO monthly NCR 35 days after the reference month

/Survey of Wholesale Prices of Commodities - Non- Agriculture

BAS, NSO monthly NCR 35 days after the reference month

XFarm Prices Survey BAS monthly national, regional,

provincial30 days after the reference month for farmgate prices; 60 days after the reference month for prices paid by farmers /

135

Sector or Topic / Activity

Responsible / Implementing Agency

Frequency of Conduct Geographic Disaggregation

Schedule of Data Dissemination With Advanced Release

Calendar Poverty Thresholds/ Incidence

Technical Committee on Poverty Statistics*

every 3 years national, regional, urban-rural

2 years after the reference year

/

Methodology 

Technical Committee on Poverty Statistics*

Estimation NSCBConsumer Price Index NSO monthly national, regional,

provincial5 days after the reference month /

Wholesale Price Index NSO monthly NCR 35 days after the reference month /

Seasonally Adjusted Consumer Price Index

NSO monthly Metro Manila 5 days after the release of the regular CPI

/Areas Outside Metro Manila

Seasonally Adjusted Palay Prices

BAS quarterly national 30 days after the reference quarter /

Industry

Census of Philippine Business and Industry 1

NSO every 5 years national, regional 2 years after the reference year (preliminary); 3 years after the reference year (final) /

Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry 2

NSO annual national, regional 2 years after the reference year (preliminary); 3 years after the reference year (final) /

136

Sector or Topic / Activity

Responsible / Implementing Agency

Frequency of Conduct Geographic Disaggregation

Schedule of Data Dissemination With Advanced Release

Calendar Quarterly Survey  of Philippine Business  and Industry 3

NSO quarterly national, regional 45 days after the reference quarter (preliminary); 60 days after the reference quarter (final) X

Monthly Integrated Survey  of Selected Industries 4

NSO monthly national 45 days after the reference month

 Annual Survey of Construction Projects of Local Government Units

NSO annual provincial, city, municipal

1 year after the reference year

XGeneration of Construction Statistics from Building Permit Forms

NSO monthly national, regional, provincial, municipal

1 quarter after the reference quarter

/Labor and EmploymentOccupational Wages Survey 1

BLES annual national, regional eight months after the reference semester /

Employment, Hours and Earnings Survey 2

 

BLES semestral national, regional 6 months after the reference quarter for labor turnover statistics

/

1 year after the reference year for all statistics

Labor Force Survey 

NSO quarterly national, regional, provincial

3 months after the reference quarter

/key citiesSurvey on Overseas Filipinos

NSO annual national 6 months after the reference year /

Generation  of Statistics on Overseas Contract Workers

Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA)

monthly national 1 month after the reference month

/

137

Sector or Topic / Activity

Responsible / Implementing Agency

Frequency of Conduct Geographic Disaggregation

Schedule of Data Dissemination

With Advanced Release Calendar

Money and BankingGeneration of Monetary and Banking Statistics

BSP monthly, quarterly, semestral, annual

national 30-45 days after the reference period

/Seasonally Adjusted Monetary Aggregates

BSP monthly national 30-45 days after the reference period /

National AccountsEstimation of the National Accounts  

NSCB quarterly national 60 days after the reference period

/

semestral   30 days after the reference year

annual national 6 months after the reference year

annual regionalSeasonally Adjusted National Accounts   

NSCB quarterly national 60 days after the reference period

/

Semestral   30 days after the reference year

annual national 6 months after the reference year

annual regional  Preparation of the Input-Output Tables

NSCB & NSO benchmark every 5 years; updates in between benchmark years

national 1 year after the release of the results of the NSO Census of establishments and its modules /

Preparation of the Food Balance Sheet

NSCB annual national 6 months after the reference year /

Compilation of the Balance of Payments Accounts

BSP monthly, quarterly, semestral, annual

national 30-45 days after the reference period

 

138

Sector or Topic / Activity

Responsible / Implementing Agency

Frequency of Conduct Geographic Disaggregation

Schedule of Data Dissemination

With Advanced Release Calendar

Population and HousingCensus of Population and Housing

National Statistics Office

every 10 years national, regional, provincial, city, municipal, barangay, urban-rural

before the end of every census year for population figures from national down to barangay levels; 18 months after the reference year for other statistics /

Mid-Decade Census of Population

NSO every 10 years national, regional, provincial, city, municipal, barangay, urban-rural

before the end of every census year for population figures from national down to barangay levels; 18 months after the reference year for other statistics /

Population   after every census year national 1 year after the release of final population figures  

Projections   regional, provincial, city, municipal, barangay, urban-rural  

Methodology 

TWG on Population Projections (NSCB)

    

 NSOEstimation    

 

139

Sector or Topic / Activity

Responsible / Implementing Agency

Frequency of Conduct Geographic Disaggregation

Schedule of Data Dissemination

With Advanced Release Calendar

Public AdministrationGeneration of Statistics on Internal Revenue Collection 

Bureau of Internal Revenue

monthly, quarterly, semestral, annual

national, regional monthly - 30 days after the reference month; quarterly/ semestral - 45 days after the reference quarter/ semester; annual - 60 days after the reference year /

(based on BIR collection districts)

Generation of Customs Collection Statistics

Bureau of Customs monthly, annual national monthly - 10 days after the reference month; annual - 60 days after the reference year O

Generation of National Government Cash and Treasury Operations Statistics

Bureau of the Treasury weekly, monthly, annual

national, regional 2 weeks after the reference period for Weekly/ Monthly Cash Budget Aggregates; 6 months after the reference year for annual Cash Budget Aggregates; 6 weeks after the reference month for Monthly Cash Operations Statement /

Tourism

Processing of  Arrival / Departure Cards

DOT/BI monthly, annual national monthly - 5 weeks after the reference month; annual - 2 months after the reference year O

140

Sector or Topic / Activity

Responsible / Implementing Agency

Frequency of Conduct Geographic Disaggregation

Schedule of Data Dissemination

With Advanced Release Calendar

TradeGeneration  of Foreign Trade Statistics

NSO monthly, annual national monthly - 45 days after the reference month; annual - 3 months after the reference year /

Transportation and CommunicationInventory of National Roads and Bridges

Department of Public Works and Highways

annual regional, provincial 1 quarter after the reference year X

Vital, Health and Nutrition StatisticsGeneration of Vital Statistics from the Civil Registration System

NSO monthly national, regional, provincial, municipal

2 years after the reference year

XMortality Indicators: methodology - TWG on

Maternal and Child Mortality (NSCB)

annual national, regional, provincial, selected cities

1 year after the release of final tables on births, deaths, etc. X

Infant Mortality RateUnder-5 Mortality RateMaternal Mortality Rate

estimation - NSO  

National Demographic Survey

NSO every 5 years national,regional

1 year after the reference year /

Field Health Service Information System

Department of Health monthly national, regional, provincial

1 month after the reference month X

National Health Survey

NSO every 5 years national, regional, provincial

1 year after the reference year /

National Nutrition Survey

Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI)

every 5 years national, regional

1 year after the reference year

/Regional Updating of the Nutritional Status of Filipino Children

FNRI every 2 years national, regional

1 year after the reference year

/

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Annex 6

List of Designated Activities and Statistics by Schedule of Release, 2002-2006

Designated Activities and StatisticsSchedule of

Conduct RemarksLabor Force Survey (LFS) Ahead Ahead by 15 daysFamily Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES)

Ahead Ahead by 5 months for 2000 and 2003 final releases

Census of Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF)

Ahead Census of Agriculture (CA) - Ahead 4 months for 2002 CA final

Generation of Foreign Trade Statistics

Ahead Export Statistics - Ahead 7-12 days

Seasonally Adjusted Consumer Price Index

Ahead Ahead 3-6 days. Starting 2005, the index values have been released with the Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Poverty Thresholds/Incidence Ahead Estimation is ahead 11 months; preliminary 2003 regional annual per capita food/poverty threshold and incidences released January 2005

Generation of Monetary and Banking Statistics

Ahead Analytical Accounts of the Depository Corporations Subsector (Banking Sector) - Ahead by 5-17 days

Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank - Ahead 1 month

Official Reserve Assets - Ahead more than 1 month

International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity Template - Ahead by 9-17 days

Processing of Arrival / Departure Cards

Ahead Visitor Arrival - Ahead by 1-2 weeks

Quarterly Survey of Establishments/Quarterly Survey Philippine Business and Industry

On time 45 days prelim and 60 days final

Survey of Retail Prices of Commodities for the Consumer Price Index

On time Agriculture – 5 days after reference month

Non-Agriculture – 5days after reference monthConsumer Price Index On time 5 days after reference monthBackyard Livestock and Poultry Survey

On time 45 days after reference quarter

Commercial Livestock and Poultry Survey

On time 45 days after reference quarter

Palay and Corn Stocks Survey On time Household Stocks - 15 days prelim and 60 days final

Commercial Stocks – 15 days prelim and 60 days final

Regional Updating of the Nutritional Status of Filipino Children

On time 1 year after reference year. Final results will be released CY 2007 but tables available as of Dec. 2006 for 2005 Regional Updating

142

Estimation of the National Accounts On time 60 days after reference period

Designated Activities and StatisticsSchedule of

Conduct RemarksCompilation of the Balance of Payments Accounts

On time BOP Position – 30-45 days after reference period

Seasonally Adjusted National Accounts

On time 60 days after reference period

Survey of Wholesale Prices of Commodities

On time Agriculture – 35 days after reference month

Farm Prices Survey On time 30 days after reference month for farmgate but prices paid by farmers no longer collected

National Nutrition Survey On time 1 year after reference year. 2003 NNS final was released January 2005

Census of Establishments (CE)/Census of Philippine Business and Industry (CPBI)

Delayed 2000 CPBI with 1999 reference year prelim released May 2003 and final June 2005, delayed by 1 year 7 months and 2 years 6 months, respectively.

Annual Survey of Establishments (ASE)/Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI)

Delayed 2003 ASPBI prelim released August 2006 and 2 sectors with final results released as of December 2006. Prelim delayed by 8 months

Monthly Survey of Establishments (MSE) became Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) after the parallel run of MSE and Survey of Key Manufacturing Establishments (SKEM) in 1998

Delayed delayed by 9-14 days. Cannot comply with 45 days releases when MSE was transformed into MISSI

Survey of Retail Prices of Commodities for the Retail Price Index

Delayed delayed by 1-2 months

Survey of Wholesale Prices of Commodities

Delayed Non-Agriculture. Delayed by 3 months or more

Census of Population and Housing (CPH)

Delayed 2000 CPH released March 2001, delayed by 3 months

National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS)

Delayed 2003 NDHS National Final released September 2006. Regional not released as of December 2006. National delayed by 9 months

Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS)

Delayed 2003 FLEMMS Final released September 2005. Delayed by 8 months.

Survey of Overseas Filipinos (SOF) Delayed Releases for SOF 2001-2004 either ahead by 1-2 months but the CY 2005 delayed by 2 months

Generation of Construction Statistics from Building Permit Forms

Delayed Delayed 1-2 months.

Wholesale Price Index (WPI) Delayed As designated, WPI should be released 35 days after ref month

General – Previous releases delayed 2-8 months; for CY 2006, few months were posted in the web. From CY 2004 coverage of GWPI expanded from NCR to Luzon Visayas and Mindanao.

Construction – As of CY 2006 releases up to October.

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Designated Activities and StatisticsSchedule of

Conduct RemarksPopulation Projections Delayed Estimation – projected population by 5-calendar

year 2000-2040: national released December 2004; regional and provincial released April 2006. Projected population by single calendar year 2000-2010, national, regional and provincial released December 2006.

Mortality Indicators (Infant Mortality Rate, Under 5 Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Rate)

Delayed Estimation – Mortality Indicators from 2003 NDHS infant mortality, child and under 5 mortality released October 2004.

Literacy Rate Delayed literacy rate from 2003 FLEMMS released September 2005.

Rice and Corn Survey Delayed delayed 3-5 daysSeasonally Adjusted Palay Production

Delayed delayed 4-14 days

Generation of Basic Education Statistics

Delayed Basic Education Information System (BEIS) – Module II School Statistics and Module III Performance Indicators releases delayed. As of CY 2006 Module I 2005-2006 partial Quick Count was released.

Preparation of the Input Output Tables

Delayed 2000 IO released April 2006. Delayed due to late 2000 CPBI released

Preparation of the Food Balance Sheet

Delayed 2001-2003 FBS not released yet

Generation of Vital Statistics from the Civil Registration System

Delayed 2003 Vital Statistics released May 2006

Census of Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF)

Delayed Census of Fisheries (CF) – 2002 CF final released in CY 2005 delayed by one year.

Generation of Foreign Trade Statistics

Delayed Import Statistics - delayed 4-13 days.

Compilation of the Balance of Payments Accounts (BOP)

Delayed Overall BOP – delayed 1 month or more

Generation of Monetary and Banking Statistics

Delayed Debt Service Burden (External Debt) – delayed 1 month or more.

Processing of Arrival/Departure Cards

Delayed Outbound Residents – Jan-September 2005 released as of CY 2006.

Generation of Statistics on Internal Revenue Collection

Schedule of Release Changed

ahead but released quarterly with monthly breakdown. Releases not done monthly to avoid reporting of frequent revision of final data.

Generation of National Government Cash and Treasury Operations Statistics

Schedule of Release Changed

cash operations releases ahead but outstanding debt delayed. No weekly releases as designated

Generation of Forest Resources Statistics

Schedule of Release Changed

ahead but semestral instead of quarterly. Difficulty in consolidating report from provincial and regional offices.

Generation of Statistics on Overseas Contract Workers Deployed Overseas Filipino Workers

Schedule of Release Changed

delayed and semestral instead of monthly. Difficulty in getting information from data sources and computerization of report.

Generation of Mineral Statistics Schedule of Release Changed

Metallics – on time.

Non-Metallics – delayed and annual instead of

144

quarterly. Non-metallics devolved to LGU’s.

Designated Activities and StatisticsSchedule of

Conduct RemarksGeneration of Land Area Statistics Schedule of

Release Changed

delayed and semestral instead of quarterly. Lack of manpower to do statistical operation.

Generation of Data on Power/Energy Production and Consumption

Schedule of Release Changed

annual instead of monthly. Releases not done monthly to avoid reporting of frequent revision of final data. As of CY 2006, available data are 2003 for petroleum products by industry, petroleum products sales and 2005 power generation due to difficulty in getting information from independent power producers (IPP’s)

Field Health Service Information System (FHSIS)

Schedule of Release Changed

annual instead of monthly. Difficulty in collecting data from regional and provincial hospitals. 2003 FHSIS delayed

Seasonally Adjusted Monetary Aggregates (SAMA)

Temporarily No Releases

covers commercial banks and rural banks with demand deposits, last conducted in CY 2005, shifted to Depository Corporations Survey that covers the whole banking system

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Matrix of Best Practices of National Statistics OfficesAUSTRALIAN BUREAU

OF STATISTICS STATISTICS CANADA STATISTICS NETHERLANDS STATISTICS SWEDEN

Legal Basis The principal legislation determining the functions and responsibilities of the Australian Bureau of Statistics are the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975 and the Census and Statistics Act 1905.

The Statistics Act guarantees the existence of an NSO and a Chief Statistician. It dictates that a Census of Population and a Census of Agriculture be conducted and enumerates other areas for which statistics can be produced. It covers data sharing limitations, confidentiality protection, publication and access to tax data as well as a section on sanctions and fines. See http://www.statcan.ca/english/about/statact.htm STATISTICS ACT, 1985, c. S-19 amended by 1988, c. 65, s. 146 1990, c. 45, s. 54 1992, c. 1, ss. 130, 131.

Act of 20 November 2003, enacting a law governing Statistics Netherlands (Statistics Netherlands Act).

The Official Statistics Act covers: Official statistics, protection of data, data providing obligation, treatment of data for individual persons, hand-over of data in special cases, sorting out, sanctions.

Position In The Government

The Australian Statistician reports to the Australian Treasurer (a member of parliament) on administrative issues only.

Statistics Act: 'The Governor in Council may appoint an officer called the Chief Statistician of Canada to be the deputy of the Minister for the purposes of this Act and to hold office during pleasure'. Currently, the Chief Statistician reports to the Minister of Industry.

On 3 January 2004, Statistics Netherlands became an autonomous agency with legal personality. There is no longer a hierarchical relationship between the Minister of Economic Affairs and the organization. However, the minister is responsible for setting up and maintaining a system for the provision of government statistical information; in other words the minister is politically responsible for legislation and budget, for the creation of conditions for an independent

SCB reports to the Ministry of Finance

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and public production of high quality and reliable statistics. The costs of tasks and activities undertaken to put this legislation into practice are accountable to the government's budget.

Organizational Structure And Finance

Australian Statistician

Deputy Australian Statisticians  Economic Statistics  Population Statistics  Services

First Assistant Statisticians  Economic Statistics Surveys and Integration Division  Social and Labour Division  Methodology Division  Information Management and Census Division  Technology Services Division  Corporate Services Division

Assistant Statisticians  Economic    National Accounts Branch    International and Financial Accounts Branch    Prices Branch    Industry and Environment Statistics Branch    Integration, Coordination and Innovation Branch    Economy Wide Statistics Branch

The Minister of Industry is the Minister responsible to Parliament for Statistics Canada. The Agency is headed by a Deputy-Minister, the Chief Statistician of Canada, who is supported by seven Assistant Chief Statisticians: four are responsible for program areas and three for technical and management operations in support of the operational programs.

In addition to the functional organizational structure, Statistics Canada employs a matrix structure to govern the way it plans its activities, allocates and manages its resources, and carry-out its operations. For example, for a given survey, the program area (subject matter) responsible for the survey uses the services of centralised expertise in survey methodology, systems developments, survey collection and processing, data dissemination, etc. This matrix structure has enabled Statistics Canada to consolidate its infrastructure functions to achieve efficiencies, to increase flexibility, and to maintain centres of technical expertise. Financial resources are managed both from a survey area (program) viewpoint as well as from a

The senior management of Statistics Netherlands is assured by an Executive Board, consisting of the Director-General and the Deputy Director-General. There are three statistical divisions: Business Statistics, Social & Spatial Statistics and Macro-Economic Statistics & Dissemination. In addition there is a division for Technology and Facilities. In direct support of the Executive Board are 4 Central Departments: Policy Staff, Operational Management, Facility Services and Personnel & Organization.

In addition, Statistics Netherlands is also managed by a Central Commission for Statistics (CCS). The CCS is made up of a chairman and an even number of other members totaling no fewer than six and no more than ten. Members are appointed (or a period not exceeding four years, with the possibility of a one-time re-

Statistics Sweden consists of the Director General's Office, central departments entitled Finance, Personnel, International Consulting Office, Research and Development, Information and Publishing, Data Collection from Enterprises and Organisations and Data Collection from Individuals and Households. There are also four statistical departments: - Industry and the Labour Market- Population and Welfare- Macroeconomics and Prices- Regional Economics and the Environment

According to the government instructions for Statistics Sweden there is a Governing Council consisting of not

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    Economy Statistics Data Centre Branch  Population    Social Conditions Statistics Branch    Labour and Demography Branch    Indigenous and Health Statistics Branch    Education, Crime and Cultural Statistics Branch    Population Statistics Infrastructure Branch  Other    Statistical Services Branch    Analytical Services Branch    Information Services Branch    Data Management Branch    Census and Geography Branch    Technology Application Branch    Technology Infrastructure Branch    Technology Research Branch    Business Strategies Branch    Business Operations Branch    Policy Secretariat Branch    Financial Management

Regional Offices  New South Wales Office  Victorian Office  Queensland Office  Western Australia Office  South Australia Office  Tasmanian Office

service area (functional) viewpoint. The Agency also uses ad hoc project teams to creatively solve technical or program challenges. These project teams are multi-disciplinary and cut across program and organizational lines.

appointment) and dismissed by the Minister of Economic Affairs. The chairman and the other members may not also be civil servants subordinate to the Minister. The CSS has a general oversight function for official statistics in The Netherlands; its duties are among others to foster the provision of statistical information for the government which meets the needs of practice, policy and science, to assess the work programmes of Statistics Netherlands, and to draw up management regulations.

more than 10 persons including the Director General. The Director General shall be the chair of the Governing Council. Statistics Sweden’s organization also includes The Council for Official Statistics consisting of the Director General of Statistics Sweden as chair and six other members appointed by the chair after consultation with all statistical agencies, The Scientific Council and The Consumer Price Index Board. According to a decision by the Director General of Statistics Sweden there is also a National Accounts Board.

Half of Statistics Sweden’s activities are financed by appropriations and half by commissioned services.

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  Northern Territory Office  Australian Capital Territory Office

Multi-Annual Or Annual Work Program

ABS has a 3-year work program.

The Statistics Canada (NSO) has an ongoing work program which is modified on the margin every year through redistribution of resources based on user priorities and program needs. In addition the program is supplemented by separately funded cyclical programs (e.g. the Census of Population) and cost recovery work that is paid for by external clients, primarily other Government ministries.

In addition to an annual work programme, the Director-General has to submit a multi-annual work programme at least every five years, for approval by the Central Commission of Statistics.

Statistics Sweden intermittently prepares a longsighted strategic plan and annual budget material for the government which includes proposals for new statistics and improvements for the next three years, together with an estimate of the income from commissioned services for the next three years. Statistics Sweden also prepares an annual development plan including prioritizations for the next coming years. The annual business plan is based on the ordinance containing directives for Statistics Sweden, the annual appropriation directions from the government, the strategic plan and the development plan.

Main Duties ABS's main duties are:

To Assist and encourage informed decision making, research and discussion within governments and the community, by leading a high quality, objective and

Under the Statistics Act, Statistics Canada is required to "collect, compile, analyse, abstract and publish statistical information relating to the commercial, industrial, financial, social, economic and general activities and conditions of the people of Canada."

Statistics Netherlands is responsible for collecting, processing and publishing statistics to be used in practice, by policymakers and for scientific research. In addition to its responsibility for (official) national statistics,

Statistics Sweden is a central government agency for official statistics and other government statistics and in this capacity also has the responsibility for coordinating and

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responsive national statistical service.

Statistics Netherlands also has the task of producing European (community) statistics.

supporting the Swedish system for official statistics. Statistics Sweden shall also be responsible for coordinating the reporting of statistical data to international organizations and for producing statistics on commission from a governmental agency or from other clients.

Other Producers of Official Statistics

a. Australian Institute of Health

b. Axiss Australia

c. Reserve Bank of Australia

d. Australian National Univer-sity

f. Line bureaus and depart-ments (Bureau of Tourism Re-search, Bureau of Transport Economics, Commonwealth Department of Transport and Regional Services, etc.)

Coordination mechanisms: The Statistical Clearing House (SCH) is the central clearance point for all Australian Gov-ernment surveys involving 50 or more businesses; with the aim of eliminating duplication

Other producers are marginal compared to Statistics Canada. The Bank of Canada produces some financial data (money supply); the Canadian Institute of Health Information produces some statistics on the operations of health institutions. In both cases, their work is well integrated with Statistics Canada's program. Some provincial and territorial statistical offices produce statistics for their domains.

The system of official statistics of The Netherlands is highly centralized. Some ministries produce statistical information in support of managing their own areas of work.

There are 24 other government agencies responsible for certain subject areas of official statistics. Statistics Sweden is responsible for 40 per cent of the products or surveys in official statistics and produces half of the surveys which other agencies are responsible for, in total 70 per cent of all surveys in official statistics.

There is a distinction in Sweden between official statistics and other public statistics. The government decides on subject matter areas for official statistics and the government agencies which will be

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and ensuring that best prac-tices are followed when de-signing and conducting busi-ness surveys.

responsible for these statistics. The agency in charge decides on which statistics shall be official and marked with the designation Official Statistics of Sweden or with the special symbol. There are regulations on official statistics in the Official Statistics Act and Ordinance and in Statistics Sweden’s Regulations for the official release and publishing of official statistics. There are also guidelines for decisions on content and scope of official statistics as well as on quality and publishing.

The Official Statistics Act states that official statistics are statistics for public information, planning and research purposes in specified areas produced by appointed public agencies in accordance with the provisions issued by the government. Official statistics shall be objective and made available, free of charge, to the public. Further, they are to be produced

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and published in a manner that protects the privacy of individuals. All agencies responsible for official statistics should each year provide an updated description for every product for which they are responsible. The description is available to the users on the Internet.

Statistical Advisor Bodies

The main statistical advisory body for the ABS is the Australian Statistics Advisory Council (ASAC). ASAC was established in 1975 under the authority of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975.

The National Statistics Council advises the Chief Statistician on issues of statistical policy and priorities. With 40 members the Council brings to bear expertise in a wide variety of disciplines and from many backgrounds (business, academia and the media). The Council meets twice a year for a day and a half each time. Professional advisory committees also exist to advise on major program areas.

There are about 25 committees providing Statistics Netherlands with technical and other advice in various specific areas of statistics. Most of the members of these committees represent user groups.

Statistics Sweden has established 13 advisory bodies or Programme Councils for different topic areas comprising relevant user representatives. They meet about three times a year and are to give advice on priorities and development and also follow up the plans. Some of the other agencies responsible for official statistics have established similar advisory bodies.

Data Collection Most recent population census

7 August 2001

Access to administrative data

ABS has access to tax, customs, and birth/deaths registration data.

Most recent population census

15 May 2001

Access to administrative data

The authority to access administrative data for statistical purposes is provided by the Statistics Act. The Income Tax and Excise Tax Acts also authorize this use in the case of tax data.

Most recent population census

2002

Access to administrative data

Article 33 of the Statistics Netherlands Act ensures the access of the Director-General to administrative data.

Most recent population census1 November 1990

Access to administrative data

Statistics Sweden has access to all administrative data

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Data confidentialityThe Census and Statistics Act 1905 (CSA) prohibits the disclosure of identifiable information of a personal or domestic nature and requires that information can only be published in a manner that is not likely to enable the identification of a particular person or organisation.

The secrecy provisions of the CSA provides a fine of up to $5,000 and/or a penalty of 2 years imprisonment for an unauthorised disclosure of information collected under the Act.

The ABS's long-standing record for preserving the confidentiality of information provided to it is widely respected.

Data confidentialityConfidentiality protection of respondent data is part of the Agency culture, reinforced continually from the day new employees are sworn in. Disclosure protection expertise and software is available to assist programs in ensuring their outputs are protected from inadvertent disclosure. In the case of public-use micro data, all releases must pass through a Micro data Release Committee that scrutinizes them. The confidentiality of respondent data is guaranteed by the Statistics Act with serious penalties. Electronic access controls are in place to ensure that confidential micro data cannot be accessed from external or unauthorized internal sources.

Data confidentialityArticles 37-40 of the Statistics Netherlands Act contain the provisions to guarantee the use of the collected data for statistical purposes only, as well the safeguarding of individual data against disclosure.

needed. This access also applies for the other government agencies.

Data confidentialityThe Secrecy Act together with a secrecy policy and a security instruction within Statistics Sweden assure data confidentiality.

Data Dissemination

Release calendar (existence, when and how published)

ABS publishes an advance release calendar on a weekly basis.

Main publicationsThe Australian Bureau of Statistic (ABS) provides a web-based information service

Release calendar (existence, when and how published)

Release dates are published on the Internet and elsewhere, generally one year in advance.

Main publicationsSearch the online catalogue of all

Statistics Canada's products and services on the website.

Release calendar (existence, when and how published)

Annually and weekly, published on website and sent to the media.

Main publicationsThe Netherlands in figures

The Netherlands on the

Release calendar (existence, when and how published)

An annual release plan for all official statistics is published on the website of Statistics Sweden. The plan is continuously revised.

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- with its full range of products available online and updated on a daily basis.

All ABS information is available free of charge on the web site.

The web site allows you to conveniently access:

- free summary information including Main Features, Media Releases, Release Advices and Australia Now - the latest statistical profile on the nation and extensive linking between related information;

- all ABS publications from 1998 onwards, mostly in Adobe Acrobat format (.pdf);

- over 2,000 spreadsheets containing economic and social time series data;

- Data Cubes in the form of multidimensional datasets in SuperTABLE format and Excel spreadsheets; and

- Regional Profiles and Cen-sus Data.

Languages of main publications

English

How are data disseminated

Browse Internet publications (PDF or HTML)

- Free - For sale: Access Online databases- CANSIM: Statistics Canada's socio-

economic database- Canadian International Merchandise

Trade: detailed trade data at the 8- and 10-digit commodity level

- Other international trade statistics.

Statistics Canada is a key player and content provider to the Government of Canada's newly redesigned Canada Site, www.canada.gc.ca. The development of this site-in conjunction with the enhancements to the services Statistics Canada provides on its own website and its continuing transformation of services online-is part of the Government On-Line (GOL) initiative. This initiative is a cornerstone of the government's commitment to provide Canadians with online access to all federal information and services by 2005.

To ensure more seamless access to federal services and to provide the public with greater ease of use, the government has structured its site according to broad client groups, known as portals or clusters, rather than along departmental lines. And, because Statistics Canada has information and statistics on many subjects, it has been called upon to participate in most of these clusters.

European scale

Statistical Yearbook

StatLine (searchable Internet database)

Languages of main publications

Many publications are available in both Dutch and English.

How are data disseminated (Paper, CD Rom, Website, online databases, databanks)?

Many publications are available in different formats (paper, CD, website)

Availability of micro data for research purposes

Article 41 of the Statistics Netherlands Law authorizes the Director-General to provide micro data to certain, specifically defined categories of researchers.

Main publicationsEvery year, Statistics Sweden publishes about 430 publications and 350 press releases. The website is visited by 2.1 million visitors at http://www.scb.se. Details about publications in various forms and about on-line information can be found there.

Languages of main publications

Swedish, English.

How are data disseminated (Paper, CD Rom, Website, online databases, databanks)?

Everything is published on the website but there are also other formats.

Availability of micro data for research purposes

According to the main principle, confidential data may be released to a third party only for the purpose of statistics production, statistical analyses and research. Statistics Sweden provides access to data

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(Paper, CD Rom, Website, online databases, databanks)?

See 'Main publications' above.

Availability of micro data for research purposes

Access to anonymous micro data is enabled by legislation with some constraints.

The Agency's challenge is to structure our information according to the design of these portals and to arrange the necessary interfaces to our data holdings.

Languages of main publications

English, French

How are data disseminated (Paper, CD Rom, Website, online databases, databanks)?

All different formats

Availability of micro data for research purposesNon-identifiable micro-data files are publicly available as approved by the Micro data Release Committee. Identifiable micro data is only available to employees or deemed employees (those undertaking work for Statistics Canada and sworn in under the Act).

that does not allow direct or indirect identification of individuals or of other data subjects such as enterprises. In addition to laws and regulations on data confidentiality, Statistics Sweden follows a screening procedure requiring a written application from the researcher. In the application the researcher is required to describe the project, the variables and periods during which data are used in the research, and also to specify the people taking part in the project. If the project involves processing of sensitive personal data the researcher is required to add an approval of a research committee. Both the anonymous and the de-identified data are in principle available for the researcher only for a specified period, for a specified project and for specified people in an institution. When micro data are released to a researcher at a private institute or organisation, Statistics Sweden imposes legal restrictions limiting the researcher’s right to

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re-communicate or use the information. If data are released to a researcher in another agency (e.g. a university), data will also be confidential at the agency receiving data, according to the Swedish Secrecy Act. In addition, researchers at other agencies normally sign a general confidentiality statement when receiving the data. The main method of giving access to micro data for research has been to deliver the data to the user by sending a micro disc by post. However, since 2005 it is possible for researchers to obtain access to micro data online (remote access).

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Annex 8

Attendees of NSCB Meetings from 1992-2007, by position

Date of Meetings Secretary Under-

secretaryAssistant Secretary Director Division Chief and

Below

Private Sector/ Governor or City

Mayor Total Chaired by

9-Jan-92 1 2 3 2 6 1 15 Secretary24-Mar-92 1 3 1 2 7 14 Secretary22-May-92 1 5 2 3 4 1 16 Secretary

2-Dec-92 1 4 2 1 5 1 14 Secretary8-Dec-92 1 2 1 2 6 1 13 Secretary8-Jan-93 1 3 1 4 5 14 Secretary

30-Mar-93 1 2 2 2 6 13 Secretary27-May-93 1 3 2 8 1 15 Secretary

5-Aug-93 1 3 1 3 8 1 17 Secretary27-Oct-93 1 2 1 1 10 15 Secretary28-Jan-94 1 4 2 4 5 1 17 Secretary15-Apr-94 1 2 1 4 5 13 Secretary29-Jun-94 1 3 3 7 14 Secretary12-Dec-94 1 3 2 7 1 14 Secretary23-Mar-95 1 2 3 10 1 17 Secretary

6-Jul-95 1 3 1 4 5 14 Secretary29-Sep-95 1 2 3 8 1 15 Secretary5-Feb-96 1 1 1 1 8 1 13 Secretary

31-May-96 1 2 1 5 8 17 Secretary12-Aug-96 1 2 2 3 8 16 Secretary27-Jan-97 1 4 2 7 14 Secretary

21-Mar-97 1 3 3 8 15 Secretary31-Jul-97 1 2 2 2 8 15 Secretary

29-Oct-97 1 2 2 3 9 17 Secretary17-Apr-98 1 1 1 4 13 20 Secretary18-Mar-99 1 3 2 2 12 20 Secretary16-Jun-99 1 1 3 12 17 Secretary20-Dec-99 5 2 4 6 17 DBM Asec14-May-00 1 2 2 11 16 Secretary

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Annex 8 (continued)

Attendees of NSCB Meetings from 1992-2007, by position

Date of Meetings Secretary Under-

secretaryAssistant Secretary Director Division Chief and

BelowPrivate Sector/

Governor or City Mayor

Total Chaired by

4-Dec-00 1 2 1 2 13 19 Secretary6-Apr-01 1 2 6 11 20 Secretary7-Jan-02 1 5 7 6 1 20 Secretary5-Jun-02 1 4 8 9 1 23 Secretary

6-Nov-02 1 4 2 5 6 1 19 Secretary15-Jan-03 1 2 1 5 12 1 22 Secretary23-Jun-03 1 2 3 6 7 19 Secretary13-Oct-03 1 2 1 7 4 1 16 Secretary3-Dec-03 1 1 1 8 9 1 21 Secretary5-Mar-04 1 9 12 22 Secretary11-Jun-04 3 1 5 10 19 Sec. Gen.20-Oct-04 1 2 1 7 6 17 Secretary24-Jan-05 1 5 1 5 7 19 Secretary

18-May-05 1 3 3 7 9 1 23 Secretary19-Oct-05 1 2 7 6 2 16 Secretary8-Feb-06 1 3 2 8 5 2 19 Secretary

22-May-06 1 1 3 7 7 2 19 Secretary16-Aug-06 1 2 1 6 7 1 17 Secretary22-Nov-06 1 2 1 5 10 2 19 Secretary14-Feb-07 1 2 3 6 8 1 20 Secretary

16-May-07 1 4 2 8 4 1 19 Secretary5-Sep-07 2 3 9 7 2 21 Sec. Gen.

20-Dec-07 1 2 4 4 1 11 Secretary

NSCB Members 1 21   1   2 25  

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