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Statistically Speaking1
Priority Setting Through The System Of Designated Statistics 2
The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) adopts cost-effective measures that are useful in the allocation of the budget to the Philippine Statistical System by setting priorities among the many statistical activities undertaken by government agencies. A measure for priority setting is the implementation of the System of Designated Statistics. The system has been established by the NSCB in accordance with its mandate to enable identification and generation of the most critical and essential statistics required for social and economic planning/analysis based on certain criteria. It is also a mechanism that addresses inadequacies and problems such as data gaps, duplication, delayed release and inaccessibility of important sets of statistics.
As an instrument for better statistical coordination, the System gained greater recognition with the issuance of Executive Order No. 352 entitled Designation of Statistical Activities That Will Generate Critical Data for Decision-Making of the Government and the Private Sector, on July 1, 1996 by President Fidel V. Ramos. The EO, among other things, approved the activities and statistics that had been designated by the NSCB for adoption by the government. There were 55 initially designated statistics that can be grouped into the following statistical subject matters: (1) agriculture and fishery, (2) education, (3) energy and water resources, (4) environment and natural resources, (5) income and prices, (6) money and banking, (7) national accounts, (8) population and housing, (9) public administration, (10) tourism, (11) trade, (12) transportation and communication, and (13) vital health and nutrition. Since then the NSCB has approved five (5) additional designated statistics, the seasonally adjusted series in agriculture, money and banking, national accounts and prices.
The system has several features. It covers both the statistical activities and the statistics generated from them. Statistical activities may be classified under: (1) censuses and statistical surveys, (2) derived statistics, and (c) administrative data system. The system defines the agency responsible, frequency of data collection, schedule of data dissemination and geographic disaggregation of data. In view of the critical importance of the designated statistics/statistical activities they enjoy higher priority over other statistical activities in terms of resource allocation determined by the Department of Budget and Management. Statistics and indicators generated by the system shall be adopted by the government as the official data and information for development planning, policy analysis and monitoring. The system is a dynamic and evolving process that allows addition and deletion of statistics/statistical activities. .
In the review process, the NSCB technical staff is guided by certain criteria as to whether the statistical activity, proposed either by any agency or the NSCB technical staff, can be recommended to the NSCB Executive Board for designation. The relative importance of statistics required for social and economic planning/analysis provides a basis in establishing statistical activities to the designated. The activities must satisfy any of the following criteria: they shall produce statistics that are essential in the formulation of government policies; provide statistical information that resolve emerging policy issues; provide widely recognized key socio-economic indicators; produce basic data in the compilation of derived data systems such as the national accounts, input-output tables, production and price indices and balance of payments; and address legislative requirements.
Among the quality of statistics produced, the users’ demand requires the timely release of the results. Untimely release of statistics diminishes the value to the users. Among the sixty (60) designated statistical activities/statistics, only twenty-six (26) are able to comply with the prescribed schedule of release. The system of designated statistics is undergoing review and evaluation by the NSCB technical staff in order to have more efficient use of statistical resources and achieve a more 
responsive system in the future. The review aims to determine and recommend the appropriate frequency of data collection and the schedule of release of the designated statistics taking into consideration the expectation of data users and the statistical capability of the agencies in terms of manpower, financial and other resources. While there is growing interest and need for statistical information at geographic level lower than the region, the Philippine Statistical System has been given resources that enable production of accurate and reliable data, measured in terms of coefficient of variation, only at the national and regional levels. Results of current surveys, particularly the Family and Income Expenditure Survey (FIES) whose statistical domain is the region, are not very reliable at the provincial level desired by LGUs, legislators, the National Anti-Poverty Commission, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and several other institutions. As such, the NSCB has not been able to release the provincial poverty statistics for 2003. To address this issue more budgetary resources are required to increase the sample size and the accuracy of the FIES. In the meantime, alternative approaches using model-based techniques and small area estimation are being explored by the NSCB with the support of donor institutions like the World Bank in order to enhance the relevance of NSCB products and services
The system of designated statistics is linked to the mandate of the NSCB of reviewing the budget proposals of agencies involving statistical operations and submitting an integrated budget for the Philippine Statistical System to the Department of Budget and Management. Over the years, the NSCB technical staff has been performing this function and in a modest way has helped the DBM in the rational allocation of statistical budget, especially for the designated statistics. In 2005, the NSCB technical staff was able to review the statistical budgets of sixteen (16) agencies. New insights are learned in the annual review of statistical budget resulting in the improvement of the process. The technical staff has to find new ways to improve its work towards the objective of realizing an integrated budget for the whole PSS.
The success of implementing the system of designated statistics as well as the statistical budget review depends a lot on the cooperation of agencies by submitting the complete documents on time. The NSCB technical staff shall continue to dialogue with these agencies through interagency and bilateral meetings.
Reactions and views are welcome thru email to the author at ra.virola@nscb.gov.ph.
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1 Secretary General of the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) and Chairman of the Statistical Research and Training Center (SRTC). He holds a Ph. D. in Statistics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, USA and has taught mathematics and statistics at the University of the Philippines. He is also a past president of the Philippine Statistical Association.
2 This article was written by Francisco K. Mallion ( fk.mallion@nscb.gov.ph), Director of Programs, Policies and Standards Office of the NSCB
Posted 10 April 2006.
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