REMAIN INDEPENDENT, STATISTICIANS TOLD
THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) must maintain its independence and continue its efforts to improve the Philippine Statistical System (PSS) to regain the country’s top ranking in terms of statistics in the Asean, according to a former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and other statisticians.
In the National Dissemination Forum on the PhilippiTne Statistical Development Program (PSDP) 2018-2023 Update on Wednesday, former National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Director General Solita Collasmonsod said the PSA needs to remain “uninfluenceable” especially by politicians at this time.
The PSA reported that the Philippines is now ranked 3rd in the Asean in terms of Statistical Capacity, from being first in the region. Indonesia is now the top performer because of its adoption of technological innovations.
“I remember I was still a graduate student, [I really admired the] Philippine Statistics Authority, well, it was not called Philippine Statistics Authority (then), but they had the best statisticians and they were not influenceable and they have not been influenceable up to this point in time. And I hope that degree of being free of influence, especially from politicians, will continue because that is what makes the Philippine Statistics agency great,” Monsod said.
Monsod, the only woman ever to be appointed Chief Economist of the Philippines, stressed that the extent of disinformation these days can only be addressed by hard data that is evidencebased and comes from a credible source such as PSA.
She said one example is the poverty data. PSA must improve its communication with stakeholders and the timing of its data releases and dissemination in order to help citizens vote for the right candidates, Monsod said.
The poverty data which is culled from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) is conducted every three years. This means, the data is released before elections and can no longer be used as a basis for voters to make informed decisions on who to vote for.
“In this time of misinformation, of fake news, etcetera, the only thing that you know (combat it), from a credible organization is hard statistics, evidencebased so that people can get the information that is necessary for them to base their decisions. And that is why it is so important for PSA to keep its reputation,” Monsod said.
Apart from poverty data, Philippine Statistical Research and Training Institute (PSRTI) Josefina V. Almeda said PSA should take a more active role in statistics literacy to improve Filipino’s appreciation for data.
Almeda said the better data appreciation for Filipinos will also improve surveys. She said there are always underestimations and overestimations in survey data because many Filipinos do not take surveys seriously.
One example: when asked about their age or their weight, the tendency for women is to underestimate their answers to make them younger and slimmer. As for men, they would often overestimate when asked about their height.
Almeda said such simple questions included in most surveys could have easily been answered by a more accurate response such as the exact and correct number. But the lack of appreciation for data hampers the process.
She said it is important to start statistics education in school and improve the statistics education of teachers. Almeda said capacity building for teachers and the standardization of the teaching of statistics are important.
Meanwhile, former National Statistician Lisa Grace S. Bersales cited improvements to the PSDP, including the review of the statistical development programs (SDPS) that were not undertaken.
But more important, Bersales said, the PSA must determine why these SDPS were not undertaken. She said PSA should not be content with reasons such as a lack in manpower or budget.
e PSA initially received a budget of P32 billion for the PSDP 2018 to 2023. is intended to finance 26 chapters and three subchapters and undertake 950 SDPS.
e PSDP update, which continued and added 164 SDPS, received a budget of P20 billion. However, this was not a reduction since portions of the initial P32 billion the PSA received for the PSDP have already been used.
In total, the PSA received P35 billion for the initial PSDP and the PSDP Update. e additional P3 billion was added to the P17 billion left from the initial grant of P32 billion.