NSCB - Press Release - NSCB Holds Workshop on the Review and Evaluation of the Philippine Statistical System

NSCB Holds Workshop on the Review and Evaluation
of the Philippine Statistical System
(PR-200811-NS1-15, Posted 26 November 2008)

The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) held a Workshop on the Review and Evaluation of the Philippine Statistical System (PSS) aimed to discuss and assess the findings and recommendations of the Special Committee (SC) created by the Board to review and make recommendations to enhance the PSS. The workshop sponsored by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and participated in by members and/or representatives of the NSCB Executive Board, members of the Core Group of Resource Persons, and the Technical Staff of major statistical agencies and selected department/agencies was held on November 19, 2008 at the Visayas Function Room, Five Story Building of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Professor Winifrida M. Constantino of the Ateneo Graduate School of Business facilitated the workshop discussions. Director Lina V. Castro of the NSCB presented the summary of the findings and recommendations contained in the Special Committee Report. The workshop discussion focused on the following major areas of concern: PSS structure, linkages, and legal framework, PSS resources; statistical products and services; data management, dissemination and archiving. The issue on sub national statistics and the creation of a Statistics Policy Council (SPC) and Philippine Statistical Research and Training Institute were also discussed.

At the start of the workshop, NSCB Secretary General Romulo A. Virola urged the participants to be guided mainly by their overarching goal to improve the Philippine Statistical System. He reiterated that the Philippine Statistical System (PSS) is highly recognized in the international community and is widely considered as one of the best among statistical systems of developing countries, despite limited resources. He said that PSS officials and employees have been offered countless opportunities to participate in fora, either as invited experts/resource persons or paper presenters, or as training/workshop participants.

Dr. Virola also informed the group that in the World Bank’s Country Statistical Capacity Database that covered statistical practices, statistical indicators and data collection, the PSS ranked first overall with a rating of 88%, along with Indonesia, among 21 developing countries in the East Asia and Pacific region. Among 145 developing countries worldwide, the PSS ranked 5th place.

During the workshop, the participants discussed the consolidation of the major statistical agencies such as the NSCB Technical Staff, National Statistics Office (NSO), Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) and the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) under a single national agency. Those in favor of the consolidation gave the following reasons: a) Efficiency: operations, resources, leadership, expertise; b) Elimination of overlapping functions; c) Ease in coordination of statistical activities & resources; d) Ease in resolving statistical conflicts; e) Faster decision-making; f) More clout in dealing with other departments; and, g) Lower budgetary requirements. For those who were not in favor of consolidation, the disadvantages cited were as follows: a) Greater bureaucracy; b) Bigger organization can be unwieldy, more difficult to manage; c) No coverage of or lack of attention to sectoral statistical requirements; d) No check and balance/perceived integrity challenges; and, e) Other countries moving towards a separate “NSCB”.

Regardless of the organizational structure of the PSS, the participants generally agreed on the following major areas for the improvement of the PSS: a) Streamlining the Technical Committees (TCs) and Inter Agency Committees (IACs); b) Responding to demands for subnational statistics; c) Instituting the legal framework for compelling response to surveys; d) More research sharing between NSCB and NSO; e) Conducting module-based surveys; f) Maximizing data sharing, use of ICTs, websites; g) Revisiting the system of designated statistics; h) Updating the data on website; exploring the idea of a common database; i) Rationalizing the data dissemination policy; and, j) Vigorous implementation of the survey review and clearance system.

Additional comments were also raised on the need for greater private sector participation, and for advocacy in securing resources and other forms of support. Some participants believed that “whatever the structure is, what is more important is availability of resources such as budget, people, and physical infrastructure”, stressing that the focus should be on “substance rather than form”. Others highlighted the need for more clientele-orientation, citing also that statistics as a “public good” should have open access by the public.

In his closing remarks, NEDA Deputy Director General Augusto B. Santos said that the workshop had provided an avenue for the members of the PSS to examine thoroughly the present situation of the PSS. He noted that the participants had carefully analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the present set-up and have translated them into opportunities to improve the system. He said the observations presented in the respective working groups have exhibited contrasting views and yet the agreements reached have showed their visions for the PSS in terms of its structure, resources, products and services, data management and dissemination as well as the improvement of sub-national statistics.

The outputs of the workshop will be presented to the NSCB Executive Board for its consideration.

ROMULO A. VIROLA
Secretary General

Contact Person:

Mr. Ruben V. Litan
Telefax No.: (632) 890-8456
E-mail: rv.litan@nscb.gov.ph