Management and Coordination of the Philippine Statistical System

1. Management and Coordination of the Philippine Statistical System By: ROMEO S. RECIDE Director Bureau of Agricultural Statistics Philippines

2. PSS is highly decentralized..... • organizations involved in statistics were born out of the needs for • -- evidence-based planning and decision-making across various administrative units in the government bureaucracy at national and sub-national levels

3. PSS is highly decentralized ..... • organizations with different goals and sub-goals • National Statistics Office • Bureau of Agricultural Statistics • Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics • Government Departments • Statistical Research and Training Center • Academe

4. PSS is highly decentralized ..... • And thus . . . • need for coordination to: • -- minimize duplication • -- promote coherence & efficiency • in the conduct of statistical activities

5. The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB).... • EO 121 tasked the NCSB as the agency responsible for horizontal coordination with the various statistical organizations within the national government’s administrative hierarchy, and • EO 135 mandated the NSCB to be responsible for vertical coordination within the local statistical systems.

6. Powers and Functions of NSCB • 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 operations; • Recommend executive and legislative measures to enhance the development and efficiency of the system, including the internal structure of statistical agencies; • Establish appropriate mechanisms for statistical coordination at the regional, provincial and city levels; • Approve the Philippine Statistical Development Program;

7. Allocate statistical responsibilities among government agencies by designating 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 Department of Budget and Management (DBM); • Review and clear, prior to release, all funds for statistical operations; • Develop, prescribe, and maintain appropriate frameworks for the improvement of statistical coordination; and • Prescribe uniform standards and classification systems in government statistics.

8. Structure of the NSCB (Board).... • Composed of undersecretaries of 20 different Departments, heads of National Statistics Office and Statistical Research and Training Centers and Secretary General of NSCB Technical Staff • With Representatives from private sector and Local Government Units ( thru their organizations) • Chaired by the Director-General of NEDA • Vice Chaired by Undersecretary of DBM; • The NSCB meets every quarter.

9. Under EO 121, NSCB Technical Staff is tasked to . . . - provide technical and secretariat support to the NSCB; - serve as the statistical clearing house and liaison for international statistical matters; - perform other functions as may be assigned by the NSCB and as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of Executive Order 121 The NSCB Technical Staff . . . - headed by a Secretary-General who is an ex- officio member of the NSCB

10. Mechanisms for statistical coordination..... • The Standards and Classification Systems e.g., Philippine Standard Occupation Classification (PSOC); Philippine Standard Commodity Classification (PSCC); Philippine Standard Industrial Classification (PSIC); and Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC); • The Statistical Survey Review and Clearance System (SSRCS) – a process thru which all surveys and censuses to be conducted are reviewed and approved before they can be conducted.

11. Mechanisms for statistical coordination..... • The Policy Resolutions of the NSCB – a compilation of policy issuances of the NSCB as the highest policy-making body on statistical matters; • The 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 Philippine Medium-Term Development Plan; • The System of Designated Statistics (SDS) – a mechanism laid out thru EO 352 that lists the most critical and essential statistical activities and statistics that should be generated by the PSS;

12. Mechanisms for statistical coordination..... • The Interagency Committees and Technical Working Groups to address specific/sectoral statistical issues with representation from concerned groups, including the academe and the private sector; • The Statistical Frameworks – frameworks and indicator systems such as the System of National Accounts (SNA), Statistical Indicators on Philippine Development (StatDev); • The Subnational Statistical Coordination Committees – multi-sectoral committees formed at the subnational level to provide direction in the development of subnational statistical systems with guidance from policy issuances of the NSCB;

13. Mechanisms for statistical coordination..... • The Government Statistics Accessibility Program (GSAP) to promote best practices in information dissemination • -- dissemination of Advance Release Calendars, • -- development and maintenance of metadata on PSS products • The conduct of statistical advocacy activities e.g. • -- National Statistics Month (every October); and • -- National Convention on Statistics (held every three years)

14. As a coordination tool..... - the NSCB Technical Staff is engaged in the compilation of the national accounts; - the NSCB Technical Staff is also undertaking the estimation of poverty statistics; and - both the national accounts and poverty statistics are designated statistics.

15. Issues regarding coordination of the PSS… • representation and participation in the Board • presence of NSCB Technical Staff only in 10 out of 16 regions • lack of clear guidelines in managing the processes and outputs of IACs, TCs, TFs

16. Recent developments..... - the NSCB created a Special Committee to review the PSS; - the Special Committee has submitted its recommendations in the form of draft statistics legislation; and - draft bills are being debated in the Senate and Lower House of Congress. *Reorganization with creation of a Statistical Advisory Council.

17. THANK YOU