Transcript of Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with Government Agencies
5 September 2007
Room 208
I. Attendance
Review Committee:
1. Dr. Vicente Valdepeñas, Jr.
2. Dr. Isidoro David
3. Dr. Cielito Habito
4. Dr. Mercedes Concepción
5. Dr. Lisa Grace Bersales
- Chair
- Member
- Member
- Member
- Member
Heads of statistical units of various agencies:
1. Dr. Mario Villaverde
- Asst. Secretary, DOH
2. Ms. Crispinita Valdez
- Director, Internal Management Service, DOH
3. Ms. Lilia Roces
- Former Undersecretary, DepEd
4. Ms. Esther Dijamco
- Chief, Research and Statistics Division, DepEd
5. Ms. Wilma Molano
- Supervising Science Research Specialist, FNRI
6. Ms. Milagros Say
- Chief, Tourism Research and Statistics Division, DOT
7. Mr. Celestino Millar
- OIC, Policy Research & Evaluation Division, TESDA
8. Mr. Charlie Calimlim
- Chief, Management Information System, CHED
FGD Facilitator : Dr. Michael Alba - DLSU
Inter-Agency Secretariat:
1. Dr. Celia Reyes (PIDS)
2. Ms. Edith Rivera (BLES)
3. Ms. Monina Collado (NSO)
4. Ms. Lily Elloso ( SRTC)
5. Ms. Marilen Macasaquit
6. Mr. Sonny Domingo
7. Ms. Lourdes Catacutan
8. Ms.Barbara Gualvez
- Head, Secretariat
- Member
- Member
- Member
- Support Staff
- Support Staff
- Support Staff
- Support Staff
Dr. Reyes presented the overview of the PSS to the members of the agencies that are going to
participate in the FGD.
Reyes: We’ve invited representatives from other departments that have statistical units. So
this is an overview of the initiative of what we are undertaking right now under the leadership
of Dr. Valdepeñas. So we have requested Dr. Mike Alba to facilitate the discussion this
morning.
Alba: I prepared just a short powerpoint just to guide us to situate where we are during the
discussion. So this is the FGD on the PSS for representatives of the govt agencies with
statistical units. The purpose, as Celia has indicated, is to collect in depth information on 7
key issues. This is to help you to prepare your answers to these issues. The issues are:
organizational structures & linkages – we’d like to request you to locate, in your perception,
where you are in the PSS and then, we’d like to ask the mandate and functions of your
department and how that relates to your statistical output, products and services and we’d like
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you to give a description of your budgetary, human and other resources in relation to your
statistical activities; we’d like to ask about the legal basis of your statistical operations and of
the PSS in general - what other ways we might be able to improve the legal basis of your
dept’s statistical operations as well as the PSS. And then we’d like to ask how you manage
your information systems and whether or not you do archiving of data and for how long this
has been going on, if so; and your statistical outputs and whether you’ve undertaken some
sort of review of client satisfaction, and finally, the best global practices that you think can be
adopted in your dept and in the PSS in general.
So the setting is, I think we can have 1.5 to 2 hrs of discussion. I don’t know if we will be
duplicating tasks so the PSS secretariat is promising to give feedback of the report on this
FGD. I guess we can ensure confidentiality of the views expressed. We don’t have to
attribute the views to persons specifically. Just so that we can get a wide diversity of views,
may I request that with each question, maybe we can go around the table by agency to answer
the question and before we open the floor for interaction and discussion. Before we go into
this, maybe we can start by introducing ourselves and what we do. I’m Mike Alba, I teach
economics at the DLSU. I am a heavy user of statistics of the NSO for my research. Let’s go
around the table and give your name, agency and what you do.
Valdez (DOH): I’m from the DOH. I’m from the information management service. We do
info systems development.
Villaverde (DOH): I’m Dr. Mario Villaverde, asst. secretary for the sectoral, mgmt and
coordination office and the policy planning as well as international head operation and local
health systems development including the info management services are under my cluster.
Dijamco (DepEd): I’m chief of the research and statistics division, office of planning service,
DepEd.
Molano (FNRI): I’m Wilma Molano of the FNRI, specifically with the nutrition economics
and statistics section which manages the national nutrition survey data of our institute.
Roces (DepEd): I’m Lilia Roces, formerly of the DepEd. I started as a statistician in all the 36
yrs that I have been with the Department. I’ve worked with generating and providing users
statistics. From statistics I retired as asst. sec. of the Dept.
Millar (TESDA): I’m Celestino Millar, I’m planning officer of the Policy Research &
Evaluation Division, TESDA.
Say (DOT): I’m Milagros Say of the office of tourism development planning of DOT,
specifically of the tourism research and statistics division. We produce the data on tourism
indicators and we coordinate with various agencies such as NSO.
Alba: In the interest of time, I propose that we spend 15 minutes for each topic. We don’t
need to answer all the questions, we just need to answer the basic question on org structure
and linkages. Situate yourself in the setup of the PSS. Are there other institutions involved in
the generation of data? Or in the statistical activities in your department? What planning and
management processes do your undertake in your statistical activities? Is your structure
centralized or decentralized? Name 3 major strengths and weaknesses with respect to the
PSS. Do you need to review or revise your department’s structure in order to carry out your
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statistical activities? Are there critical concerns that need to be addressed in order to
strengthen your statistical functions and ensure operational sustainability now and in the
future? What opportunities for expansion and diversification are needed so that you can
enhance the relevance of your statistical activities? Would you like to propose changes in
structures in the PSS?
Dijamco (DepEd): DepEd is a member of the interagency committee on education statistics
which is headed by the NSCB and we’re also a member of the TWG on functional literacy.
Alba: Maybe that’s the easiest question to answer. Can we go across departments just to see
where your department situates itself in relation to the PSS?
FNRI: As far as FNRI is concerned, our relation with the PSS is not solely, when we conduct
national nutrition surveys, we have to seek clearance from NSCB para ma-recognize that that
particular survey is being cleared by the PSS and to be implemented to the different
respondents. And as far as the second question, are there other institutions involved in data
gathering, I think it refers to if there are other institutions that generate similar data as ours?
Alba: No, I think in relation to FNRI, for instance, when NSCB does its poverty estimates, if
they’ll need data from you?
FNRI: That’s precisely the reason why FNRI is also a member of the technical committee on
poverty statistics in as much as one of the two components of the poverty threshold comes
from FNRI which is the food threshold. We generate that particular information.
Alba: You serve as inputs also to other, not just in the poverty estimates statistics, are your
data used by other agencies?
FNRI: Yes, I know that DOLE gets some data from us for wage determination. They want to
see the food threshold and that’s what they consider for the new wages. Aside from that, we
are aware of the Millennium Dev’t Goals and 2 of the targets or indicators for that come from
FNRI.
DOT: The DOT is the co-chair of the interagency committee on tourism statistics which is
chaired by NSCB also and we are the major producer of tourism statistics. We are also a
member of the task force on tourism statistics and overseas Filipinos chaired by the BSP. We
have distributed statistics, I believe our tourism research is used by the DOT and by NSCB.
We also collaborate with the NSO in producing our domestic tourism statistics.
TESDA: On the part of TESDA, the agency sits in the interagency committee on education
statistics and on the TWG on functional literacy and in the interagency committee on
statistical matters under the DOLE. Basically, TESDA is the producer of training statistics
and in line with the compliance of the Philippines in the IMO, TESDA is into the registry of
the maritime sector that would serve as validation of the seafarers working aboard ship.
CHED: The CHED is a member of the interagency committee on education and statistics.
Villaverde (DOH): DOH chairs the interagency committee on health and nutrition statistics
under the NSCB and generally, the DOH is not only a heavy user of health stats it also
generates a lot of health stats. Very decentralized ang set up. We have the information
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management service but there are a lot of other bureaus and services within the DOH that
produce a lot of statistics. Sometimes if you look at a set of data from one bureau and go to
another building, magkaiba na. Even outside of DOH, there are two official publications, one
is the adjusted figure made by the NSCB and the other is another official publication which is
the Philippine Health Statistics. In these two publications, there are also 2 figures for infant
mortality which is a very basic, vital health index and yet, there are 2 figures na magkaiba. So
ito ang mga problems that we have in health statistics. Maraming nagge-generate ng data,
pero hiwahiwalay sila. So if you want to access our data, you have to go to so many offices.
Ok lang sana kung ang mga data ay virtual na makukuha mo o linked yan electronically pero
hindi pa ganon ang situation. So maraming kakulangan. Ang isa nga na very critical sa amin,
minsan yung data is 5 years old pero ngayon lang mapa-publish. Late na. Pero ngayon medyo
ginagawan ng paraan. But generally, ang mortality data ng NSO ay delayed na delayed na. In
relation to the structure and linkages, maraming nagge-generate ng data pero hindi sila linked
in the general sense na kahit merong interagency committee on health and nutrition stats.
Alba: Maybe we can pursue this issue. I see a number of issues coming out of the responses.
One is, why do you think that within the DOH itself, there is no way to standardize the data
and the other issue that might be relevant to the other agencies is, what was mentioned was
NSO produces health stats which is used, in turn, by DOH. Is that the case also with the other
agencies?
Roces (DepEd): The DepEd is the designated agency for education statistics until Grade 6
ever since mula nung magkaron ng PSS. At that time, the DepEd includes the secondary level
and the higher education. In 1994, each of these new agencies had their own statistical
divisions or units so sa amin sa DepEd the research and stats units is part of the planning
service. Our structure is decentralized, meaning, processing of data at the division but we get
data directly from schools; schools send to the municipality or district office in the case of
grade level; but in the case of secondary schools they send directly to the provincial office of
the Dept and the na schools division; then finally, the central office. So processing is
decentralized. Our system is decentralized; we gather data from every school, during school
year that ends in March. Major weakness – gathering of data from private schools. I guess the
same is true with CHED and TESDA. Need to review structure? We have a rationalization
plan; we want to strengthen the office that will process the data. We have expanded the
composition of the planning unit at the municipal level and upgraded some positions at the
regional level. We have counterparts up to the municipalities level.
Alba: Is the same true with CHED and TESDA in the structure on gathering statistics?
CHED: There are types of data that we gather na centralized and decentralized. There are
certain programs that we process at the regional level and there are certain programs that we
process na centralized. For example, when it comes to ______ (inaudible) because we have to
make sure that we retain our status in the IMO. We also do that for nursing.
TESDA: Our data gathering is also decentralized. We have provincial officers. Our major
problem is collecting data from TVET institutions. TVET institutions in the country are under
private and SUCs because they invoke their charter and say they are autonomous. We have
also some controls. Before, the data consolidation and analysis is done in the same office, but
now there are 2 offices: we have the MIS that gathers and consolidates data from regional
offices and the Policy Research and Public Survey division that process the data. So these are
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two offices involving statistics. What we are experiencing is that sometimes we have no
control on what data should be collected from the field offices.
Roces (DepEd): May I add? With the passage of RA 8155 basic education is defined as
including formal and non-formal and there is another office in our department, the Bureau of
Alternative Learning that is now generating non-formal education statistics.
Villaverde (DOH): Another problem is linkage with LGUs kasi ang health services nadevolve
sa LGUs. So we have problems gathering data from LGUs. Another problem is private sector
statistics. For example, meron tayong Notifiable Disease law pero halos hindi napapatupad
particularly in the private sector. Illnesses data from private hospitals are not usually
reported. Pati causes of death usually malabo kasi pag hindi masyadong familiar yung doctor
na tumitingin sa pasyenteng namatay, ilalagay na lang na cardiac arrest. So nakaclassify as
cardiac disease ang cause of death. Yung mga ganon na problema. We also have problems sa
hospital stats, particularly management systems. We cannot get from private sector kasi hindi
pa sya included in the compendium of health stats. Ang isa pa ay yung number of doctors.
We don’t know how many doctors are practicing in the country. Marami kasing involved na
agencies dito; alam ng CHED kung ilan ang nageenrol; then yung PRC nagbibigay ng
lisensya, hindi rin alam ang namatay na, ang nag-shfit na, etc. so we don’t know how many
doctors or nurses are in the Philippines. So we don’t’ know how many doctors and nurses we
need to generate. We’re also starting on health regulation data, sometimes conflicting din iba
ang data ng ibang agencies in terms of health facilities. We also need logistical data on where
medicines are.
Valdez (DOH): We also conduct special surveys but often linked with NDHS; we also have
disease surveillance system.
DOT: Yung department namin decentralized. Other offices also produce statistics. Yung mga
specific stats like simple market trends sila but for the major ones, yung office talaga namin.
For the rationalization plan namin, we want to strengthen yung they’re adding functions and
additional personnel for data analysis. Yung problem namin parang sa DOH, yung local level
stats na-devolve yung function sa local govt so hindi na masyadong makakuha ng stats sa
LGUs. Sa mga private establishments, pag kumukuha ng data from them, they see it as taxrelated like occupancy rate so talagang hindi reliable ang mga figures na nilalagay nila. For
the other institutions involved in generation, hindi lang sila data-generation but then we rely
on the source ng data namin like BI sa generation ng tourist arrivals. This is the major source
of our data for tourist arrivals. Our concern is my data gap kami sa domestic tourism so wala
kami data on this kasi we rely on the private establishments tapos hindi naman reliable info
nila. So we collaborate with NSO, nag-ride kami as LFS nila but then, medyo mahal kasi so
yun ang concern namin. We want to institutionalize sana para yung major indicators lang
magkasya sa LFS but mahal kasi ang singil. So hindi rin ma-persuade na gawin yung
Tourism Satellite Account so medyo may problema talaga sa domestic stats. Yung sa ibang
issues like medical tourism, holiday economics wala pa kaming data dun kasi mostly LGU
related ang data.
Alba: Does the DOT collect their data from Immigration?
DOT: Hindi from immigration. We utilize the arrival/departure card which is a legal
document of the BI.
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Roces (DepEd): Costly talaga ang NSO. Yung FLEMMS which is a household survey pero
ang concern mo is DepEd. We’re talking about functional literacy rate. NSO is doing that for
us; the plan is every 5 years but the last one was held in 2004 and wala pang kasunod kasi we
don’t have the money to do the survey. The budget is from DepEd.
Alba: The money is available in the budget of DepEd?
Roces: Not this year.
Valdepeñas: There were two fiscal years that there was reenacted budget. Walang bagong
budget.
Alba: In any case, a number of issues were raised about the relationship. My impression is
that at least in terms of the agencies’ connection with the PSS, that seems to be well-defined.
You’re all represented within the structure of NSCB. The problem seems to be in terms of
relationships within agencies and then coordinating activities across agencies, and in the
private sector, with firms that have to give inputs to data, and so forth. Let’s go on to the next
issues. Unless you want to add anything more.
DOT: We want to strengthen nga yung local stats so we identified yung mga ano, my project
ang DOT wtih JICA. We identified 2 provinces na gagawin itong project na ito so we trained
them and we introduced yung statistics manual for LGUs but then, sa LGU lang talaga, pag
hindi priority ng local executive, hindi rin nila gagawin kahit na-train na at my manual na.
The problem is how LGUs would adapt the system.
Valdepeñas: I think the real problem is with the DOH. You get two sets of numbers for the
same event. Which is the right number? Basic stats yan. That’s a major flaw in the system. It
looks like the NSCB is absent in standardizing, by what standards should you collect data?
On health, tourism, education. Yung sa FNRI, what you prepare are caloric requirements?
How can the DOLE use the caloric which is physical quantity, in wage which is in money
units? Who sets the prices on caloric intake?
FNRI: There is a corresponding, for each food item that is consumed by respondent or
household, there’s a corresponding price. Tatanungin ang household kung magkano ang bili
nila sa bigas, magkano ang isang kilo, yung piniritong bangus, etc.
Valdepeñas: How do your numbers compare with NSO?
FNRI: Yung food threshold galing samin ang lahat ng data. We determine how much calories
ang dapat iintake a day. Ang pag-collect namin ng data, what we call actual food weighing at
tinatanong ang household for actual food prices. Vinavalidate namin sa market price.
Valdepeñas: There’s redundancy. There’s a great overlap here because NSO is doing the
same thing. Yung sa DOT, what is the basis of going on holiday economics when there’s no
data to support it? Because decisions have already been made. It’s already a law.
DOT: There are numbers pero hindi lahat nagsa-submit such as occupancy rate, pero hindi
complete. Hindi majority nagsasubmit ng data.
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Valdepeñas: What is the percentage when you have the information? 60%, 50% of the time?
What is your statistical domain?
DOT: More than 50% po. Ang nakukuha ng data mostly mga accredited establishments ng
DOT so yung hindi accredited, wala kaming mandate na makuhanan sila ng data.
Habito: Can we just have a regular sample of establishments which can be deemed
representative of the industry?
DTO: That’s why we’re doing now the accommodation capacity study. We don’t have a
budget so what we do is we focus on the tourist destinations because not all places are tourist
destinations. So yun muna and from there magkakabenchmark kami. That’s where we’re
starting now.
Habito: What I had in mind is you can find a good population of the tourism establishments
and use that as a sampling of the industry. There is a sample that is statistically representative
of the industry.
Valdepeñas: It seems to me that the most organized in terms of collecting data is the DepEd.
CHED: We adapted the “kaliwaan” system where we provide data in exchange for data of
private schools. Ang problema namin is NCR e, lagging laggard. They don’t submit data. So
kaliwaan. Merong proseso in place at the regional level; merong committee that handles the
tuition hikes. If they can’t handle the problems at the regional, kami aakto sa central. Ang
problema lang hindi nila nirereport.
Valdepeñas: Wala ba kayong sanctions and penalties for non-compliance? At the BSP, if any
bank violates a law, they have to post deposit with us tapos we automatically deduct the
amount for penalty. You must have a system of sanctions that work. To enforce your
regulations, you must have a system of sanctions. Wala kayong Expectorate to go around.
CHED: Ang problema kasi sometimes meron silang 2 sets of data.
Valdepeñas: Parang Intsik? Oh my dear God. When I meet Romy I’ll mention this to him.
The information that the House Committee on Appropriations is working on in the quest for
education is very shoddy, fragile basis and then you ask Congress to put people’s money in
those programs. It makes me think twice now. I attend the ICC so when you come to us for
ICC for projects funded by ADB or WB, now I have to ask you more questions for the DOH,
DOT, DepEd, FNRI, where did you get your data? Are they financially sound? From what
we’ve heard today, the data are all shoddy. Could you tell all the departments to do their
homework?
David: I think part of the problem is coordination. We should be evidence-based. In your
assigned Task Forces and IACs, do you meet regularly? Are the IACs working well?
Roces (DepEd): Yes, before I retired we produced the Glossary of Basic Education Statistics.
We meet regularly; we also include the DOST, the Science High Schools.
Villaverde (DOH): The IAC on health meet regularly. The last meeting was 2 months ago.
The DOH will host a workshop on definition of terms and also will determine who will
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release the official data kung madetermine namin kung kaninong data ang mas reliable source
at mas updated, then yun ang ire-release; pero ang dami kasi. Kasi sa health, maraming mga
nagko-conduct ng sarili nilang studies then they publish it. Sometimes hindi naman official
stats ang ginagamit pero yun ang naco-cover ng media kasi magpe-press conference sila so
sometimes nakakalito. Kasi my official data naman coming from NSO tapos iba naman ang
lumalabas. Yun mga ganon issue; it’s not really walang basis pero it’s the best that we can
have. Sa health, hindi ka naman pwedeng hindi magbigay kasi patay yung pasyente. So kahit
ang LGU hindi makaprovide ng tamang data, we can’t withhold the logistics from them. Pero
nagbibigay pa rin kami kasi pag winithhold namin patay ang mga bata.
Alba: If you meet regularly, why are there still coordination problems that have persisted
through the years?
FNRI: We sit on at least 3 TWGs or IACs. Member kami nun chaired by Dr. Villaverde, pati
dun sa TC on poverty stats with Dr. Reyes as chair; and the TC on Survey Designs which was
chaired before by Dr. David. We meet regularly. However, in the case of poverty statistics,
yun yung, katulad nun question sa pricing, ang mandate ng FNRI is to monitor the nutritional
status of the people and at the same time give the nutrition situation. Ang form of data that
we produce include yung caloric intake as far as the nutrition health status ng people.
However, we also conduct our own special studies wherein we still need data on pricing. In
fact, somehow, nakakatulong ito sa pagvalidate o pag produce ng data na pinoproduce namin
para sa poverty threshold. Officially, ang FNRI does not release the food threshold data. We
have to submit it sa NSCB at sila ang naglalabas so I just want to make it clear that there’s
nothing wrong for us to collect data on food prices although secondary lang. Ang first is the
nutritional status and the caloric intake of the people.
Alba: I just want to probe why there might have been very recent problems that persisted
through, parang, IACs meetings over the years. How come those problems were not
addressed in IAC meetings?
Concepcion: I’m also part of the IAC and that is on Population and Housing. Population, as
you know, deals with births, deaths and migration. But in statistics, IAC is dealing with births
and deaths. Our suggestion was, if we want to come up with one single figure, is that we have
joint committee meetings with the DOH so however, I want to bring up here that the civil
registrar general is the administrator of NSO. Now, the system must change now that instead
of the national treasurers who are being _____ (inaudible), this is now, because of the Local
Government Code, it has changed somewhat. Data that are collected on the scene, on the
register of births and deaths, is collected by both the DOH and the civil registrar. Now, this is
one source, however, when it comes up, the data are distinguished not only in terms of
coverage but also in terms of time ______(inaudible) so it is just one single number but
when it is published, nagiiba na. Kasi nga, ibang year, at sabi nga ni Dr. Villaverde, it takes 5
years before it gets published. The same thing is also true with the registrar who releases the
deaths and births. Up to now, we’re still I think with 2005 although we have data available as
of 2006 but when it is published to the public, masyadong delayed. And then the coverage is
not given in terms of completeness so up to now, our civil registration is under-registered.
We don’t know the completeness of registration to this date. Whether it’s 80%, we don’t
know. Estimate lang yan. So this is the big issue here and I don’t think any amount of
coordination will solve it, it is the system itself and we’ve been dealing with this since the
1960s. Up to now wala pang sagot.
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Alba: So shall we leave it at that? The next set of questions, give the mandate and functions
of your department as it relates to your stat activities and the products and services that you
perform. And whether the outputs and services are consistent with your mandate. If there are
problems, what do you think are the mechanisms that can improve the consistency bet the
outputs and the mandate. Do you need to improve design and processes of stat outputs to
improve the integrity and comprehensiveness of outputs and services of the data you produce.
How responsive is your dept in the products and services that you produce. How timely are
the outputs, have you conducted client satisfaction surveys, etc.
Valdez (DOH): Our major publication is the Philippine Health Statistics pero there are many
inconsistencies; it has a list of health facilities; we do national health accounts in
collaboration with NSCB. Our mandate is EO 102 of 2000. That’s the rationalization plan of
DOH. Legal mandates, the Local Government code.
Villaverde(DOH): Sa legal mandates pa rin, yung Notifiable Disease Law. Kaya lang
napakatagal na nung law na yun, the law on notifiable diseases was enacted in 1921. Even the
private sector is covered by that law. Naka-enumerate dun ang mga diseases na dapat inotify.
Problem is that law still lists diseases that are not updated; yun iba eradicated na pero nandun
pa sa list ng Phil health diseases. But ok lang kasi irereport mo lang na zero yan. Kasi pag
nagkaron, considered na yan as epidemic of global proportions. Pag nagkaron ng report sa
Philippines ng small pox, that’s eradicated globally, and then of course, polio, wala na yan sa
buong Pacific, may ilang countries na lang, pag nagkaron ng report sa Philippines kahit isa
lang, that’s considered an epidemic of global proportions. Dadagsain tayo dito ng experts ng
WTO. So ok lang na zero. Pero dapat may reporting, hindi yung porke wala e hindi na
magrereport. But we need to update the list of diseases that are being monitored. Yang ang
legal mandate dun, yung iba mga basic mandate na lang sa amin like EOs like Food and Drug
Act na kailangan i-collect ang data na ito.
Dijamco (DepEd): We have data on testing and assessment to ensure quality of education.
We intend to put up results on our website but this involves more than 6000 schools to
include the private schools. But we provide data on a per school basis. The Department is
mandated by RA 9155 and BP 232 to produce education stats. We have the Basic Education
Information System; our quick count data for 2007-08 will be available by Dec 2008. We
don’t conduct client satisfaction surveys, we just entertains all walk-in clients who ask for
data. But we think our clients are satisfied.
Valdepenas: You mentioned testing and assessment. In a way that is an alternative form of
client satisfaction survey. If the average score of a 12-yr old in math goes up or down, in
English proficiency, Science, those are indirect evaluation – efficacy. Whether you’re doing
something right or doing it at all; if in a 10-yr period the score is going down, you’re doing a
pretty bad job.
Dijamco (DepEd): I heard in the radio this morning that achievement scores of Grade 6
students have gone up.
Valdepeñas: That’s a surrogate measure of satisfaction.
Roces (DepEd): Actually that’s an indicator of quality.
Valdepeñas: That means your delivery system is effective as a teacher.
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Alba: Are your outputs reviewed? If so, who reviews them? Are there statisticians who go
through the adequacy, comprehensiveness?
Dijamco(DepEd): Our planning officers at divisions do especially for and accuracy and
validity of data submitted by schools.
Roces (DepEd): In the office of planning service, we have a group of engineers who go
around inspecting and monitoring the physical facilities in the school buildings and furniture.
So they also validate. When we allocate the funds, we have to have the right physical
facilities.
Valdepeñas: Including for sports facilities?
Roces (DepEd): Wala na kasi ang sports sa DepEd.
Valdepeñas: You know, there is a positive correlation between the sports activity of the child
and his ability to excel academically. That’s found in the US and Europe. So if your students
don’t move around, they’re likely to be dumb people.
FNRI: As I mentioned earlier, we are mandated to conduct the national nutrition survey every
5 years based on EO 128 of 1986. Two of our surveys – the national nutrition survey and the
updating of the nutritional status of Filipino children, these are two statistically designated
activities based on EO 352. Our statistical outputs are statistics in the form of technical
reports and publications and facts and figures which we upload in our website for other users.
The results of the surveys are usually available the following year. We conduct surveys for 6
months; ideally we like to conduct it summertime starting from April to September; the
following year, we try to report this during our national nutrition month which falls in July.
As far the integrity of our data, mula sa simula, even in the formulation of our questionnaire,
or sa protocols, we usually hire statistical consultants. Right now we have 4 statisticians in
our office that do this. Our office has a tech committee, so the questionnaire has to be
approved by the tech comm. of the FNRI. Meron din kaming ethics comm. within DOST;
mga taong ito, may isang component that we draw lots so we need some clearance. So we
have an ethics comm., before we go out lahat ng documents namin, protocols, questionnaires,
survey design, estimation procedure must pass through the NSCB through their tech comm.
on survey design. During the course of data collection, meron din kaming spot checking. By
the way, very centralized kami so lahat ng staff mostly galing sa central office. Pero ang
clamor sa amin is to come up with provisional estimates. Very specialized din ang mga
nagco-conduct ng surveys, graduates of nutrition. Kami lang ang survey na hindi nakakabit sa
NSO. We conduct our own surveys kasi very specialized. Meron din nagrereview mula
simula hanggang sa dulo na statistical consultant. Ang ano lang, even as we wan to provide
lower level of disaggregation, hindi namin magawa. But sa report namin, pinapakita namin
ang variations at margin of error. As far as client satisfaction is concerned, if you would ask
for empirical data for us to say na satisfied sila, wala po kaming ganon. But ang proxy
indicator for that is, in the past ang source lang ng funds namin ay general funds or the GOP
but for the past 2 surveys, meron nang medical societies that joined us to support our survey
and we also thank DOH sa office ni Dr. Villaverde that supports our health survey. Sa users,
ang data set, we used to have a magnetic tape, over time, nagkadikit-dikti so what we did,
through the ICT, we had a project that were able to rebuild all the data sets from 1978 to 2005
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and hopefully, we will launch this and we’ll call this E-Nutrition in our website. Pwede
download for a fee not to earn but just to sustain the information system.
Alba: Are these public-use files?
FNRI: Yes. There is a module we call FNRI data, there are other modules wherein, we
turnover some PCs to the National Etimiology Center, DepEd. Basta cooperating agencies,
mga published data. Kasi nagkakaron ng issue as far as pricing e. Yun sa kanila kung ano
lang ang binibigay nila, inayos naming sya na pwede syang GIF in the form of maps, dietary
maps and even nutrional status.
Villaverde (DOH): Just a rejoinder dun. Na-mention na rin ang disaggregation of data, kung
bakit siguro nagkakaron ng confusion o discrepancy ng data is because of that, meron ding
mga needs ang end users na hindi nase-serve minsan. Like for example, yung ating mga
national nutrition survey but this is good for the medium term, not for annual planning; dapat
every year, kasi every 5 years lang yung national nutrition survey, every 5 yrs din ang
national demographic survey. Tapos delayed pa ang pagrelease ng results. Since health is
already devolved, kailangan ang data, kahit hindi man sa municipal level, at least provincial
level. At ito ang nagiging problem kasi ang program managers sa central office and regional
office will have to look at data that will reflect yung provincial at least so magcoconnect yan.
So nandun yung confusion. Pagpunta ng mga kinolect yan sa central office, hindi na yan
magmamatch sa kasi survey sila e samin actual na report. Tapos pag tinotal mo yan,
magkakaiba na ang figures. But there is _____ (inaudible) kasi na provincial level. At
humihingi kami ng year to year basis, yung annual kasi pagnanghingi ang Congress at ang
sinalang ay yung national nutrition survey ng 2000, sasabihin napakaluma na ang data nyo;
pag naghingi ang Malacanang, hihingi rin ng recent, so we send, we send a memo, alam nyo
naman pag ang deadline 2 days, you know what they will give you. So but since yan ang
binigay sayo, yun ang bibigay mong data. Ganon ang mga conditioning dito. So that will
reflect on the client satisfaction. Reliable yung mga talagang survey na ginagawa natin pero
dapat recent data at the provincial level at least. Kung wala yun, magpoproduce kami.
Alba: The more basic issue is the dissonance between the needs of the policymakers which is,
given our governmental structure is now clearly disaggregated and the capability of parang
national pa rin ang focus.
Villaverde: Tulad nung sinasabi ko nga, very basic na vital health index nga na infant
mortality data, dalawa pa ang napa-publish. But we know the limitation so isa lang ang
ginagamit namin pero dalawa pa rin napapublish. Yung Phil Statistics, mababa ang infant
mortality rate dun. Para na tayong developed country but sa NSCB, my adjustment kasi alam
naming my underreporting kasi sa mga rural areas, pag may namatay na baby, hindi na
kukuha ng death certificate so hindi narereprot sa civil registrar. Lalagay na lang yan sa box
at lilibing. Lalo na yung mga kapapanganak lang na wala pang personality sa society. Yung
iba dun, para, marami pang trabaho yan e so malaki ang underreporting ng infant mortality
rate kesa sa adult mortaliy. So mababang-mababa ang infant mortality sa actual reported. So
may mga formulas na ginagawa ang NSCB para ma-adjust at yun ang ginagamit namin na
data pero pareho pa rin napapublish. Kasi ang adjustment ginagawa lang every 5 yrs based on
national demographic survey.
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Valdepeñas: Ms. Molano, since 1978 when you’ve been conducting the surveys, have you
seen any perceptible improvement in the height of the Filipino? If your caloric requirements
are really warm or not. Are they taller?
FNRI: In terms of weight, there’s been an improvement in the nutritional status natin.
Bumababa ang prevalence ng underweight. In terms of stunting, yung underheight, pababa
rin. What is alarming is the overweight. Obesity.
Valdepeñas: Wala nga kasing activity e. That’s why sports is very important.
Habito: I’m just curious, anong number ng infant mortality ang pinipick-up ng UNICEF? The
better one or the worst one?
Villaverde (DOH): I think yung adjusted. Ang importante kasi, I’m not very particular kung
gaano kalaki yung discrepancy, ang tinitingnan ko as a planner yung trend. Pareho naman
bumababa e. They sort of confirm each other. Yung isa lang talaga masyadong mababa kasi
may underreporting. So hindi mababago ang factor ng underreporting. Makikita mo yung sa
diseases, like sa diarrhea, mataas yan in the 50s and 60s pababa ng ganon, pero nun naglagay
ang DOH ng national program on the control of diarrhea diseases, biglang tumaas because in
the program, we improve on the reporting system so tumaas uli. So sasabihin mo, worse yata
ang pagintroduce ng program kung hindi mo alam ang pag-interpret but after a few years,
makikita mo pababa na. So ang ginagawa ko lang, alisin mo yung biglang taas after 2 years
of introducing the program, ipagdugtong mo lang, makikita mo pa rin, the trend is going
down. Duon mo rin makikita kung gano kalaki yung underreporting kung di mo isasama, kasi
idedeliver yan sa mga public facilities like sa rural health units. Wala tayong programa on the
cure of cardiovascular diseases, yung ano lang, preventive – so exercise, healthy lifestyle,
mga ganon. So walang program sa mga may sakit na ng heart disease. So hindi naka-catch
yung statistics na yun kasi usually pumupunta sila sa mga private hospitals. Pero once na
mag-ano na libre ang hypertensive sa RHU, biglang tataas ang report ng hypertension in the
Philippines. Kasi pupunta na sayo ang pasyente. Ganon din nangyari nung pinush yung
program on acute respiratory ano, biglang tumaas ang reporting ng cases of pneumonia
among children pero bumaba pa rin ang trend.
Valdepeñas: Siguro you have to develop a new program every 6 months to improve
disclosure (laughter).
Villaverde (DOH): Hindi naman kasi, kailangan lang talaga makuha statistics ng private
sector because some programs naman hindi kailangan pasukan ng gobyerno especially yun
mga hindi gaano ang impact sa public health unlike infectious diseases na may public health
impact. Pero yung mga like denerative diseases, individual lifestyle yan e so ang pinupush
namin is preventive.
Valdepeñas: Do you work with the barangay health system?
Villaverde: Yes, pero may weakness yung system ng devolution of health services especially
sa mga health statistics na ganito, may mga barangay o munsipyo na hindi nagrereport so yun
lang ang concern namin ang how big ang underreporting para ma-estimate namin ganito ang
plano.
Valdepeñas: Saan nyo kinukuha yung factor of adjustment sa data?
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Villavere: May mga formula na ginagamit ang mga experts natin tsaka yung sa WHO
standards.
Valdepeñas: It has to be a contestable figure, you have to test it on the ground.
Habito: Talking about another discontinuity in the data, about a year ago when I was asked
by UNICEF to do provincial MDG report card, in one of the provinces, we found out that the
there was upward jump in unattended births. We found out that the reason for the trend is that
they did not consider hilots. They did not consider them professionals so unattended na lang.
Buti na lang tinanong namin kasi there was this mysterious jump in the stats but you have to
go to the regions to find out.
Villaverde: That’s true. We don’t classify skilled and professional ang mga hilot kasi hindi
sila kasali sa international definition ng health providers.
Alba: Let us go around to the other institutions.
TESDA: On the part of TESDA, ang statistical functions and mandate, RA 7756 which is the
TESDA law. Yung registry of workers that have been assessed and certified. On the major
outputs and services, one of the major outputs generated by TESDA is the registry of
seafarers and if those seafarers are also capable. Their certificate and pictures are loaded on
the website because imes there’s a different person on board who used the certificate number.
Napauwi sya. Data on household service workers are collected every 2 weeks, on GMA
scholarship data for the hunger mitigation program. We have spot audits. On client
satisfaction, pwede mag-email sa website. Kasi nagkakaproblema rin sa passport. Napepeke.
Valdepeñas: Next year hindi na problema yan. The DFA has contracted the BSP to make our
passports digitized according to international standards. Starting June 2008 we’ll be
introducing those passports.
CHED: Our mandate is RA 7722 and BP 232. The kinds of statistical outputs have to do with
higher education like tuition, enrollment, graduates, pumasa sa board exams, quality
measures like research outputs on number of higher education institutions; employment
especially when it comes to SUCs, most especially when it comes to their technical vocation
kasi yun nga yung mga nagegenerate ng TESDA, there’s a large component lodged at the
higher education that covers SUCs. We have a system of sharing data. We have a review
process in addition to the technical panels, we also have technical committees and we do hire
consultants from time to time when we revisited our data elements, advising us how we could
best collect those data and process them. We have also requirements, like yung sa peke na
certificates from university of Recto, so we get a lot of confirmation/validation from
employers abroad. We get about 100 every month asking for validation of data presented
from a person who has a graduate degree from a university, kung my accreditation ba yung
university na ito, etc. So we have to tell the truth so that would cost them their employment.
Valdepeñas: Do you have a control system? I remember in the old days, there is always a
Special Order and if your name is not there, wala ka. Do you have that system?
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CHED: Oho. Sa program pa lang my tinatawag kaming permit and recognition. So if a person
obtained these credentials illegally, wala syang SO. Colorum. Most likely mga kinukuha mga
diploma sa Recto.
Valdepeñas: Do you publish every start of the school year which schools are accredited so
that parents will not be misled to send them to university of recto schools?
CHED: Meron po tayong, they can access them from our website or they can call us.
Valdepeñas: Di pinapublish sa dyaryo?
CHED: There are plans to do that for nationwide pero as for now by regional basis.
David: Ang dapat publish school record, say passing rate sa medicine, law, accountancy, so
yung mga prents would know if almost zero ang passing rate, ilipat na lang.
Valdepeñas: Teaching education now they are required to publish, like in California now.
CHED: Ang main system for making people know is yung sa website they can see the
schools.
David: Ang problem, yung mga nasa Ilocos walang access sa website.
CHED: Yung sa board exams na pinapublish namin, based on our ano, PRC, performance
levels ninyo, if you perform for 5 years below 8%, ipapasara namin. Pero idedemanda kami.
Valdepeñas: You have to enforce it kahit ma-lawsuit ka. Lawsuit lang yan.
CHED: So yun ang pinupursue namin, ma-strengthen ang police powers ng commission to
close schools na hindi kami madedemanda.
Valdepeñas: Dun sa ma SUCs, are you happy with their performance? From where you sit?
Atin-atin lang.
CHED: There’s been an improvement. In some programs, more public schools are
performing better than private schools. We also have many public institutions in the
provinces especially that are doing good, they can compete with any private institution in
Mindanao. Sa mga SUCs, marami nagiging universities kahit hindi dapat because of political
accommodation/intervention. May pinupush kami na bill that would ano pero hindi
pinapansin. Kahit within the commission parang hindi naiiintindihan. This will correct the
system sana.
Reyes: Mike has prepared a lot of topics to be covered sana. But our resource persons are
busy and we appreciate their presence here. But what we’ll do is send them the list of other
issues that have been identified. We will request from you inputs and if needed, we’ll
schedule another meeting and will provide feedback to you about this first meeting. Unless
Mike has something urgent to say?
Alba: What recommendations do you think ought to be raised to improve the PSS and your
departments in particular?
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David: Agencies produce statistics mainly for administrative records except for FNRI. And
there lies a number of problems. Magkakaiba talaga ang kakalabasan ng summary statistics
pag admin record kesa statistical surveys as what happens in health statistics. Kasi meron
talagang underreporting. So iba talaga pag results from surveys. But whether you use
administrative records or rely on statistics surveys, you still need statistical expertise.
Halimbawa, in cases like yung sinasabi ni Dr. Villaverde, kung minsan pag my nanghingi ng
data on an annual basis, if somebody is statistically astute, madaling sagutin yun. The
indicators don’t change too fast kaya ibigay mo every 5 years. Kasi they don’t change that
fast. Don’t’ sent every year. Things like those. So ang gusto ko itanong, in your agencies, do
you have statistics positions and yun bang mga nakaupo dun statistically-trained or nonstatistics trained?
Alba: As part of the questions we will send them, the budgetary human resources and other
human resources. We’d like you to enumerate the budget for the statistics.
FNRI: I just would like to comment on that. Kami survey data pinuproduce namin. Ako,
although statisticians ako by profession, still gusto ko pa rin makita ang criteria or para
masabi mo na quality administrative data ang pinoproduce ng isang agency. Kasama ba yun
na pwede kami magtanong being participants in this FGD? So what do you mean by quality
administrative data? Ano ba ang dapat natin tignan para ang isang data na galing sa isang
administrative record ay masabi mong quality data. Ang point ko, sa DOH, lagi kaming
nakocompare yung OPT – Operation Timbang na sila po, naglalabas din sila ng weight and
height data. Parang nakikita ko, ano ba pagkakaiba nyo sa ginagawa ng DOH na merong
OPT. Sana yung mga ganito concerns maiayos ng PSS. Tulad ngayon, much as we would like
to provide lower levels of disaggregated data, constrained kami dahil kung ano sabihin ng
PSS, ang FNRI talagang sumusunod. Tulad ng sinabing maximize the use of the master
sample so since 2003 religiously sinusunod namin yan sa survey. Gusto po naming magbigay
ng lower level of disaggretation so we try to conduct small area estimation methodology to be
able to come up with provincial estimates so isa po sa mga kailangan naming data ay yung
administrative data. Gumamit din kami ng census from DOH, DepEd, may mga data gap. So
what we did nagtry kami sa Bagui ang Benguet to get some administrative data. Sad to say, di
ko na lang mention kung anong government agency, we thought, ako personally pag sianbing
administrative records, irereport yan ng barangay, ieelevate sa munisipyo, sa probinsya up to
the national. Ang napansin naming, according sa kinuhanan naming ng data, ang gawa pala
nila, sa munisipyo yung top 5 lang na data nila na barangay level yun lang ang kinukuha nila
to become city level na administrative records. Meron lang daw correction factor na
ginagawa. So sabi ko, pano natin masasabi kung maganda nga ba itog administrative data na
ito. I hope yung PSS isesettle ito. As you have mentioned, ano yung background, budget,
these data are available sa NSCB na nirereport naming regularly. In fact, ako personally ang
tingin ko nga sa NSCB, eto na naman, dumating na naman ang kanilang mga report lang
ginawa kung hindi manghingi ng data sa amin. Kaya nga ang tingin ko na naman nito,
panibago na naming records na ipoprovide na naman naming which I think NSCB meron na
sila nitong mga ito. Ang isa pa po, ang PSS being ang aming survey ay designated statistical
activity, dapat inexpect namin na sana may support from the PSS in terms of maapprove for
budget to conduct surveys. Yun nga budget for next year hinihingi nga ngayon. So sasabihin,
sige bigay nyo samin, bibigay namin, sad to say, wala rin naman. Di kami nakakakuha ng,
sana man lang may lobby na para masigurado na may pondo kami. What we’re doing now,
kasi tuturo kami ng DBM, go to your mother departments, sa DOST, so tinothrow nila ang
decisioni sa department. Ang ginagawa na lang ng director naming, pumupunta na kami sa
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mga stakeholders. We earn our credibility kaya may nakukuha kami from other private and
national institutions and international organizations.
Valdepeñas: Itong administrative statistics system, nandun na ang system. It should just be
strengthened. Kasi if we create another, mas mahirap kunan ng resources. So my view is that
pag nandun na lang ang mga resources, just improve on the distribution of resources so you
can get the kind of results you want.
TESDA: On statistical positions, sa TESDA hindi specific na statistical position. Sa amin my
admin aide, admin asst, specialist 1, 2, senior supervising, basically general qualifications. So
hindi specific na statistics. Yung iba rin na my training, naa-assign din sa ibang office na iba
ang ginagawa.
Valdepeñas: It’s not necessary that all are statisticians there, you must just have a few who
are really professionally trained in statistics. One recourse is to require students who want to
get their BS must get one semester of statistics so kahit anong item ibigay, pwede.
DOT: Sa amin, para ring sa TESDA, supervising rin, walang statistical position talaga. Ang
ginagawa namin aside from the training, pati mga new hires, ang kinukuha namin graduates
ng stat o econ kaya lang ang bilis ng turnover talaga pag yun ang courses nila. Like yung mga
employees namin na ganon, napunta na lahat sa marketing.
Valdez (DOH): (Inaudible). May mga statistics divisions po kami.
Valdepeñas: This is very important. Nuon sa BSP, yung statistics and economic research
were fused and then we talked about it. The tendency of the analyst who’s also the statistics
gatherer, in order to embellish the analysis, is to sometimes invent some figures. So sabi
naming, hindi pwede. So we crated the department of statistics separate from the department
of research. The analyst group is different from the statistics people who gather information.
We want to make sure that there is no invention of numbers. So we need to have that firewall
between those who collect information in dependently, and those who look and interpret the
numbers. Otherwise, you may not have sound analysis. If there’s not enough statistical people
to go around, gawin na lang ng isang department of the government like what the Netherlands
did, they put up a central statistical office. Lahat kayo nandyan, you want to gather statistics
on finance, agri, educ, etc. sila gagawa ng design, etc. they have a unique service to the
national government. That way, they can build a career in statistics from age 21 until they
retire. Statistician 1, and so on. Ganon din sa Australia, they centralized the system. That
way, they can ensure the quality of information that is gathered. Rather than have a
decentralized system na you have 2 counts about the same event and you don’t know which
count you should use. This experience suggests to me that this decentralized system is a flop
in the last 20 years that maybe we should really have a centralized system of statistical
planning.
David: FNRI and TESDA raised an important issue. On the budgeting for statistical
activities, NSCB said helping agencies get budgets is not the role of NSCB. What do you
think?
FNRI: Ang EO 352 hindi ko memorized pero sa pagkakaalam ko, tutulungan kami ng NSCB
na maassure na yung mga designated statistical activities namin ay maiimplement so
kailangan my budget. Di ko alam kung sino ang may maling pagkakaintindi, pero just
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recently, we received a letter from NSCB na ang sinasabi e inasmuch as nagsisimula na tayo
ng mga budget hearings, we would like to know your budget. So we have to submit our
budget to them so ang impression ko, tutulong sila but we had a survey year na alam ko na
nagkaron kami ng problema na hindi kami natulungan dun sa ineexpect naming na pondo. In
fairness naman, yung survey namin next year, inassure kami ng DBM in fact binigyan na
kami ng pondo and they said na next year, bibigyan nila kami ng P50 M for the NMS survey.
Kaya lang, ang sa tingin ng FNRI, hindi pa rin ito sufficient to conduct the NUS. So magsosource out pa kami from other funding institutions.
Habito: I’ve been hearing your sentiment that you need more support for the advocacy for
your budget and you’re looking to the NSCB for that. I was just thinking, shouldn’t you be
looking for support from the DOST and from other agencies, the principal agencies?
FNRI: There was a survey year, I think it was 1998 na kung saan, yung food consumption
component which is a vital ano, we weren’t able to do it because of lack of funds. So what
our director did sa 2003 survey, talagang naghanap na sya. He personally went to other
institutions but in fairness to DOST, meron kaming GIA, yung grant in aid, in a way
binibigyan pa rin kami pero sa laki talaga ng fund requirement ng survey, in fact ang DOH
nagbibigay din samin talagang maghanap from one institutions to another. Pero ngayon
medyo maluwag na loob namin kasi my budget na.
Habito: What all this suggests is that we should have a more centralized statistical lobby
advocate so data generating agencies like FNRI hindi na year after year, merong lobby in
Congress. Para may sure na pera from Songress. Kasi minsan Congress itself disapproved the
budget kasi hindi nila naintindihan na bakit may biglang jump sa budget requirement. Due
pala ang census, due pala ang FIES so kaya may hike. Sa survey kasi dapat after every 3
years. We need more effective info dissemination, coordination, programming, project
advocacy.
Valdepeñas: There should be an assignment for LGUs kasi may predictability na yung cash
flow nila because of the IRA. The mayor or governor can’t say hindi nila alam kung my
darating na pera. They know because automatic remittance na ang IRA. In fact, ang ginagawa
ng ibang local govts, ginagawa nilang collateral, umuutang sila against their future IRA. So I
think they should be assigned some statistical work also and how to do that, maybe an
issuance of EO. It’s very embarrassing that with all these technology, we can’t even have the
right count of how many infants die. It doesn’t stand to reason. We’re not doing any better
than decades ago. We need to progress on getting the right count. That’s why we hope that,
with all these observations you gave us today, the committee will be able to develop some
sensible proposals.
Villaverde (DOH): Yung sa budgetary needs for all these data, mas madaling i-secure kung
meron talaga tayong national framework. Na ito yung mga dapat (inaudible) statistics at how
frequent and how ano at may mga costing na yan so that naka-map tapos may mga agency na
rin na naka-assign yan. No other agency will do that parang ganon.
Valdepeñas: But you see we also have EO 121, they mandated the statistical agencies e wala
namang resources so ang kailangan is you have to have a Constitution that will have a
statistical organization that is autonomous, independent and the only way you can keep it
independent is every year, give it money. Every year like the SC, they must have a budget for
the kind of work they do. It’s for the future. We have to do a much better job of statistical
17
gathering than the one we’ve seen in the last 5 years. The ability of computing is improving
ever year. There is no reason why, even archiving, the technology is improving every year.
So kailangan you have an institution that is really armed by your Constitution to behave, to
act and to expect and anticipate resources to come its way, other wise, walang mangyayari.
Alba: That ends it. We thank everyone for their active participation. We learned a lot about
the statistical system today.
Valdepeñas: We thank you, Mike, for patiently guiding us through all the by-ways of the
discussion.
Alba: We promise to give you feedback about the results and will give you a set of questions.
Valdepeñas: Regarding autonomous independence, twice the Supreme Court has already
supported us in administrative and financial matters from the government. When Gabby
Sison was appointed Governor, and they said he should be subjected to the Commission on
Appointments, he refused to show up. So somebody challenged him in the SC. The SC said,
since the Constitution said that the BSP is an independent body, you cannot have the
Governor of the Central Bank pass through the CA otherwise it will lose its autonomy.
Noong 2004, yun Salary Standardization Law, our own employees went to the SC to get a
ruling – why are there two salary scales in the BSP? Those who are exempt and not. Because
the BSP is autonomous, it’s exempted. So two decisions and SC decisions are very difficult
to overturn. It’s better than an act of Congress because you can just abolish the Act or recall
but the SC decisions are for life. So I think eventually, Dr. Concepcion, Dr. David, Dr.
Bersales, we will really go as far as that, to recommend an autonomous, independent
statistical body. I don’t know how you’ll call it but there are already precedents in other
jurisdictions like Netherlands, Sweden, and Australia. So predictable ang work program and
the resources available are also predictable so lumalago ang statistical science in those places.
The FGD ended at 1:05 pm.
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