chapter 6 development of the subnational statistical system - NSCB

CHAPTER 6DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUBNATIONAL STATISTICAL SYSTEMI. INTRODUCTIONThe 1991 Local Government Code provided a system of decentralization and local autonomy grantingmore powers to the local government units to achieve greater economic development and better qualityof life of the people. The Code has empowered the local government units (LGUs) with greateradministrative and fiscal autonomy but also transferred to them greater governance responsibilities anddirect social accountability on the delivery of health, social welfare, infrastructure and other communityservices to their constituents.Consequently, the Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP) 2005 to 2010 emphasized the primary roleof the local government units (LGUs) (Figure 6-1) in accelerating the decentralized development of thecountry. Aside from ensuring power/energy availability at the national and local level, creation of growthcenters/corridors and achieving physical and social integration of the archipelago through the roadnetworks and nautical highway, there is a pressing need to strengthen local fiscal autonomy andresponsibility including the implementation of the devolved powers and functions.In the implementation of the devolved functions and responsibilities, however, the LGUs have to be tobe equipped with the necessary governance skills and vital information about the local community. Toaddress the emerging social, economic and environmental needs, spur countryside development andachieve global competitiveness to meet the challenges of the new millennium, national and localplanners should be guided by accurate, reliable and timely local statistical information. Subnational dataare therefore necessary for more responsive local and national planning, policy and decision-making.Strengthen local fiscal autonomy/responsibility and implementation ofdevolved powers/ functionsCreation of growthcorridors/ centers &urban decongestionDECENTRALIZEDDEVELOPMENTEnsure power/ energyavailability at the local/national levelAchieve physical integration of thearchipelago through the road networks andthe nautical highwayFigure 6-1. Sectoral Goals/Priorities, 2005-2010 MTPDPConsidering these challenges and the wide geo-political subdivisions of the country, there is a need toupgrade the capability of the subnational statistical system in providing information support to nationaland local development planning to hasten countryside development, attain equitable distribution ofwealth and ensure delivery of government services to areas where they are most needed. To realize theobjectives of people empowerment and sustainable growth and development at the national and locallevels, statistical data should be made consistent and harmonized to provide holistic perspective in theformulation of government policies and programs.1.1 SCOPE AND COVERAGEThe Subnational Statistical System (SSS) is decentralized and consists of government units at thesubnational level engaged in the generation of statistical data either as their primary or secondary

Philippine Statistical Development Program, 2005-2010Meanwhile, the Regional/Provincial Statistical Coordination Committee (RSCC/PSCC) directsand guides statistical development activities at the subnational level to ensure the generation ofstatistics needed in the preparation of local development and monitoring plans in eachregion/province. Specifically, the powers and functions of the committee are: (a) to oversee theimplementation in the region of policy decisions made by the NSCB; (b) to recommend policydecisions affecting the development of the region and the local level to the NSCB; (c) toresolve statistical problems and issues peculiar to the region and local level and institutemeasures to strengthen the capability of the region and local levels; and (d) to create interagencystatistical sub-committees or task forces.Since overall planning in the region is vested in the Regional Development Council, the RSCC,which is composed of top officials of various regional line agencies and LGUs, isadministratively attached to the Council to ensure responsiveness of the SSS to therequirements of this planning body. A representative from the private sector, e.g. nongovernmentalorganizations (NGOs), is included as a member of the committee, consideringthat the role NGOs in the development process has likewise been expanded. The NSCBExecutive Board also provides overall guidance to the Regional Statistical CoordinationCommittees (RSCCs).• Statistical Coordination MechanismsStatistical coordination mechanisms aim to harmonize efforts of concerned agencies to bringabout an integrated and coherent subnational statistical system (SSS). The mechanisms forcoordination, which are the same as those prescribed by the NSCB at the national level, areadopted or replicated at the regional/local level. These are: (a) statistical programming throughthe multi-year subnational statistical development program (SSDP), regional/local statisticalcalendar, and monitoring of the program and calendar; (b) funds programming; (c) formsreview and clearance system; and (d) standard concepts, classification systems andtechniques.The multi-year SSDP sets the direction for the development of the SSS by addressingprevailing problems and issues and meetings the information needs of each developmentsector at the subnational level. In particular, it consists of various strategies and activities tosolve bottlenecks affecting the capability of the SSS to respond to the needs of the clientele.The review of the statistical budget proposal of agencies at the region/local level provides thenecessary resources for priority statistical activities. The manner through which budgets forstatistical activities of subnational agencies are reviewed is consistent with the schedulesprescribed under the synchronized planning-programming-budgeting system. This allowscloser linkages between statistical planning and funds programming.The forms and clearance system, which has been implemented since 1988 by the NSCB at thenational level, is prescribed at the subnational level. The system is envisioned to eliminateduplication of statistical data collection through survey/censuses, minimize the burden placedupon responding establishments, households and other entities and ensure the technicaladequacy of the survey design.The adoption of standard concepts, classification systems and techniques at the subnationallevel ensures data compatibility and consistency. The RSCC is tasked to oversee the adoptionof these in the region and at the local level.Subnational Data Production and Dissemination SystemThis component covers techniques, procedures and methods of data production, documentation,storage and dissemination employed by agencies at the regional/local level. Improvements in theseactivities will enable the system to provide information support for more effective decentralized planningand policy-making. A refocusing of the data production activities giving priority to the generation of smallarea statistics to address the areas of concern of the Regional/ Provincial Development Plan is thereforenecessary. Data production systems can be developed/improved through statistical manpowerdevelopment and statistical technology development. To effectively carry out these major activities,operating guidelines are prepared and monitoring visits by central office staff personnel are regularlyconducted. The local visits also aim to determine the progress and status of implementation of statisticalactivities and ensure the early solution of emerging problems/bottlenecks.Development of the Subnational Statistical System 6-3

Philippine Statistical Development Program, 2005-2010Subnational Human Resource DevelopmentBetter and more innovative training for the technical upgrading of statistical personnel at the regionallevel and in local government units can help achieve the twin objectives of closing the gap between andavailable trained technical manpower resources and upgrading the quality of statistical manpower atthose levels. Among the specific courses of action along this line are: graduate training andprofessionalization; short-term training programs; career system for statistical personnel;seminar/workshops; and conferences and special studies on manpower development.Under the graduate program, statistical workers and faculty members of academic institutions at theregional and subregional levels are provided with opportunities to pursue masteral/ doctoral programs instatistics. Non-degree short-term and general/specialized training courses are small area statistics,exploratory data analysis, estimation methodologies based on incomplete or small-area data, regionalforecasting, model-building for macro-planning, statistical data management, research design andstatistical report writing. The specific training courses depend on the level of the statistical worker, i.e.primary statistician, intermediate statistician and professional statistician, and based on the results of atraining needs assessment conducted by the SCU staff. The Statistical Research Training Center(SRTC) is the lead agency in conducting the non-degree training programs.A career system for statistical personnel at the subnational level is a means for attracting professionalstatisticians into the government /public service and promoting statistics as profession among thesubnational personnel. This would also help reduce the high turnover rate of statisticians in the service.The career system, which includes a Professional Certification Program and accreditation of education,training and experience, may eventually widen the statistical manpower base at the local level.Seminars/workshops are expected to augment previously acquired training and contribute in theprofessionalization of statistical personnel. Likewise, regular conferences are held to update statisticalpersonnel on recent developments in statistics and other fields. Of equal value are observationtours/visits to other countries in order to know more about their styles on subnational statisticalcoordination and development.Continuing studies on manpower development are also done to assess the impact of training programsto provide vital inputs into the design of new and more effective manpower development programs forsubnational statistical personnel. To conduct these studies, the assistance of the academe,international/national research institutions and other professional groups will be solicited.Statistical Research and DevelopmentStatistical methodologies used in the generation and dissemination of local-level statistical data arecontinuously reviewed and assessed. Appropriate, new and innovative methodologies are developedand adopted for more efficient data production and dissemination. These are three specific areasrequiring careful review namely: (a) the system of small area statistics; (b) research and development (R& D) on local statistics; and (c) subnational economic and social accounts and indicator system.The system of small area statistics (SAS) has become indispensable in the light of decentralizedgovernment functions. Activities to make available local-level data from existing national-level statisticalundertakings as well as those intended to generate SAS are therefore given priority. To resolveproblems associated with uncoordinated data production, data generation procedures in the region andlocal levels are analyzed and improved. An efficient monitoring and evaluation system is likewisedeveloped to address these problems which, among others, include data gaps, unreliability, duplication,lack of timeliness and inconsistency of data.Statistical R & D is a critical factor in the furtherance of the desired improvements in the SSS. Amongthe r & d activities at the subnational level are researches on the generation of small-area statistics andthe most cost-effective statistical methodologies, survey instruments, data collection and retrievalprocesses.In response to the demands of local planning and policy formulation, there is a need to supplement andwiden the base for economic analysis by including an economic and social accounts indictor system.This system provides the framework for assessing the quality of available small area statistics andimproving the SSS.6-4 Development of the Subnational Statistical System

Philippine Statistical Development Program, 2005-20101.3 DATA SOURCESStatistics with regional, provincial, city and municipal disaggregation used to be generated by thecentral/regional/field offices of practically all of the national government agencies. These subnationalagencies produce either primary statistics or data by-products of their administrative or regulatoryfunctions.However, with the devolution of the powers and functions of line departments in 1993 on the delivery ofhealth, social welfare and infrastructure services pursuant to the 1991 Local Government Code, thelocal health and social welfare statistics are now generated by the local government units. Thus, thelocal government units at the provincial, city, municipal and barangay levels and many other agencies ofthe government at the subregional level are now a rich source of data generated from administrativerecords or through ad-hoc surveys.Meanwhile, some major statistical agencies still produce primary statistics through censuses and nationwidesurveys. These are the National Statistics Office (NSO) and the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics(BAS). The NSO has comprehensive network or field personnel at the municipal, provincial and regionallevels which conducts, on a regular basis, censuses and surveys of establishments and households.From these activities, demographic, labor force and establishments data are obtained.The BAS, on the other hand, has provincial operation centers supervised by Survey OperationsCoordinating Offices based at the Central office. The BAS conducts agricultural surveys of palay andcorn and commercial and other crops, livestock and poultry, fishery and forestry. There are otheragencies that occasionally collect data through special surveys in answer to a particular need.There are government agencies that compile data as by-products of their administrative or regulatoryfunctions. These agencies include the following various line departments and the bureaus/offices underthem at the subnational level: Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR); Department of Agriculture (DA);Department of Budget and Management (DBM); Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS);Department of Health (DOH); Department of Justice (DOJ); Department of Social Welfare andDevelopment (DSWD); Department of Tourism (DOT); Department of Public Works and Highways(DPWH); Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE); Department of Environment and NaturalResources (DENR); Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); Department of Local Government (DLG);and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) compiles The Gross Regional Domestic Product(GRDP) which is the regional dimension of the Philippine System of National Accounts (PSNA). TheGRDP gives an indication of the extent to which the regions are economically developing.II. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS, 1999-20042.1 STATISTICAL DEVELOPMENTSStrengthened local statistical systemThe need to develop the subnational statistical system has long been recognized even at the onset ofthe decentralization thrust of government. Among the notable activities and outputs in the past planperiod include:• Expansion of Regional/Provincial Statistical Coordination Committees and establishment ofnew NSCB Regional DivisionsAlbeit limited to areas where the NSCB has been provided meager resources to establish andoperate a Regional Unit and NSIC branch, some significant improvements have beenintroduced and institutionalized towards the generation and application of statistics at the locallevels. Thus, the period 1999 to 2004 saw the expansion of the Regional StatisticalCoordination Committees (RSCCs) through the new NSCB Regional Divisions in Regions IV-A, IX, X, and XI. Likewise, the Provincial Statistical Coordination Committees (PrSCCs) inSaranggani and North Cotabato had been established. In 2005, the only remaining areaswithout the NSCB presence were in Regions II, III, IV-B, VII, Caraga and ARMM.Development of the Subnational Statistical System 6-5

Philippine Statistical Development Program, 2005-2010Realizing the importance of accurate and reliable statistics to guide local development planningand policy formulation, the Regional Development Councils (RDC) of Regions II, III, VII, andCaraga which oversee and spearhead economic development in these areas have formallyrequested the NSCB, the Senate, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA)copy furnish their Congressmen and the DBM to establish an NSCB regional statisticalcoordination units in these regions.• Development and Updating of Local Standards and Classification SystemStatistical work has long been guided by and is closely associated with standards. Thesestandards are designed to ensure uniformity and comparability of statistics not only within thecountry but with other nations as well. Classifications systems are a prime example ofstandards usually with international origin or reference but which have been customized to thecountry’s realistic situation and aligned with prevailing or emerging domestic and globaleconomic trends and technological changes.At the subnational level, continuous quarterly updating of the Philippine Standard GeographicCode is being undertaken by the NSCB. Updated Philippine Standard Geographic Code(PSGC). The PSGC is an important set of standards in that changes thereto affect most georeferenceddatabases and systems as well as program and policy targets of government. Theupdated masterlist of barangays, municipalities, cities, provinces and regions wasdisseminated to concerned government agencies in print and electronic forms, diskette/CDROM and thru the NSCB website.Production/generation of subnational-level data• Estimation of Gross Regional Domestic Product and Provincial Product AccountsThe NSCB released in July 2004 the estimates of the 2003 GRDP based on the new regionalconfiguration pursuant to Executive Order No. 36 which reconfigured the Mindanao regionsand Executive Order No. 103 which split the then Southern Tagalog Region intoCALABARZON and MIMAROPA as well as transferred the Aurora province to Central Luzon.Likewise, initial activities were also undertaken during the period for the estimation of theprovincial product accounts for interested provincial local government units building on theexperiences and gains on the estimation of the Palawan Provincial Product Accounts.• Development and generation of local poverty statisticsWith the release of the preliminary results of the 2003 Family Income and Expenditure Survey(FIES) of the NSO, the NSCB produced the initial estimates of the regional food thresholds forCY 2003 and an analysis of regional poverty statistics.Moreover, with assistance from the World Bank, the NSCB formulated a methodology forestimating provincial poverty for specific provinces in the country. The methodology is aimedat providing a local dimension to the existing national and regional level poverty statistics inresponse to increasing demand from local executives and planners for a tool to monitor povertyalleviation initiatives at the local level.Meanwhile, to address the data needs at the provincial and municipal level which cannot beestimated through surveys, the NSCB also developed the data framework and methodology formunicipal poverty mapping using available key local indicators and based on the minimumbasic needs concept and with consideration of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI)program strategy for poverty alleviation.- Framework development and generation of the provincial/municipal poverty mapsDriven by the demand and efforts in all sectors to analyze poverty and recommendviable solutions, the NSCB embarked on a pilot and innovative statistical undertakingthat could serve as a good model for other areas in the future --- municipal povertymapping. Adopting the minimum basic needs framework and with consideration ofthe KALAHI goals and the local data infrastructure, a data framework has beenformulated as basis for the development of a methodology to map information oncertain characteristics of the poor at the municipal levels.6-6 Development of the Subnational Statistical System

Philippine Statistical Development Program, 2005-2010The poverty map, to be generated through GIS technology, is envisioned to be usedas a tool for locating the poor, identifying their characteristics, describing theirconditions, and in prioritizing areas that need immediate attention based on selectedindicators. The map can also be used to compare municipalities within a province orwith other municipalities elsewhere.The project was started in 2000 in two pilot areas, Laguna and Albay. Data are beingprovided by the regional/ local/ field offices of concerned government departments aswell as by the local government units. This was later expanded to cover the otherprovinces of the country. In 2005, about 24 provinces had been covered.- Generation of provincial poverty statistics on the basic sectorsProvincial estimates of the 2000 poverty incidence for the following sectors: women,youth, children, citizens, urban, migrant and formal sector workers, farmers, andfishermen were generated by the NSCB through the United Nations DevelopmentProgram (UNDP) funded NAPC project, entitled, "Development of Poverty Statisticsfor the Basic Sectors".- Generation of municipal estimates of poverty incidenceAside from the generation of provincial poverty estimates, the NSCB embarked on thegeneration of municipal poverty incidence, income gap, poverty gap and severity ofpoverty for 2000 for all provinces. This was made possible through the joint NSCBand World Bank’s ASEM Poverty Mapping Project which utilizes the small areaestimation technique to come up with poverty estimates for smaller subgroups.- Development of methodologies and indicators to identify the most vulnerableprovinces in the PhilippinesInitial work had been started by the NSCB to determine the most vulnerable provincesto poverty. In this regard, a paper entitled Identifying the Provinces in the PhilippinesMost Vulnerable to Poverty was presented in the 9th National Convention on Statisticsheld in October, 2004 at the Shangrila Hotel in Pasig City.Likewise, provincial incidences of vulnerability (to income poverty) using 2000 datawere produced by the NSCB in 2005 through the UNDP funded NAPC project"Assessment of Vulnerability to Poverty in the Philippines."• Development of barangay or community based information systems- Community Based Monitoring Systems (CBMS)The Micro Impacts of Macroeconomic Adjustment Policies (MIMAP)-Philippines-Project Management Office is at the forefront of promoting the Community BasedMonitoring System (CBMS) in the country to complement the national povertymonitoring system. It aimed to monitor vulnerable groups most affected by theimplementation of adjustment policies adopted to correct macroeconomic imbalance.The project developed a monitoring system that includes a minimum set of indicatorsor the CBMS that best reflect welfare conditions and potentials of the poor.Improvements on the CBMS were implemented from October 1, 2002 to September30, 2004 by the DLSU-Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies(DLSU-AKIEBS) which received financial assistance from the InternationalDevelopment Research Centre (IDRC)-Canada for a research project entitled“Development of a Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) Network in Asiaand Africa”. The system is now being implemented by the LGUs in Camarines Norte,Bulacan, Pasay City, Mandaue City in Cebu, Eastern Samar and Agusan del Sur. Atpresent, the Philippine government, through the National Anti-Poverty Commission(NAPC) has been convening an inter-agency committee in line with theimplementation of a local poverty monitoring system. The data to be collected throughthe system will be utilized to facilitate assessment of policies and programs such aspoverty alleviation. Moreover, the CBMS now aims to assist local government units inDevelopment of the Subnational Statistical System 6-7

Philippine Statistical Development Program, 2005-2010needs-identification, policymaking and program implementation, and is expected toprovide early warning signs of impending economic crises.- Core Local Poverty Indicator Monitoring System (CLPIMS)The Core Local Poverty Indicator Monitoring System (CLPIMS) also aims to generateinformation for poverty diagnosis and planning. The CLPIMS identified the Core LocalPoverty Indicators (CLPI) which consist of the minimum set of fourteen (14) carefullyselected human development and income-based indicators for poverty diagnosis andplanning. This took off from the gains of the different local poverty monitoring systemsexisting at the local level (e.g. MBN-CBIS, MBN-CBPIMS, IRAP, MIMAP-CBMS) Amaternal mortality indicator was also added to harmonize the CLPIs with MDGs.The CLPIs were adopted through the National Anti Poverty Commission (NAPC) EnBanc Resolution 7 on March 13 2003 (7th En Banc Meeting) and was localizedthrough DILG MC 2003-92 providing for the adoption of the CLPI in local planning.- Barangay Management Information System (BMIS)The availability of up to date information about the community poses a problem tolocal planners and chief executives. Thus, network team of the Barangay IntegratedDevelopment Approach for Nutrition Improvement (BIDANI) of the Rural Poorintroduced the Barangay Management Information System (BMIS) in 1997 as apeople based information system for gathering, organizing, storing and updating dataabout the barangay. In this system, the Barangay Development Council together withthe Barangay Nutrition Scholars and Health Workers were taught on how to conductdata collection, and process (using manual or BMIS software) and analyze theinformation gathered.The BIDANI Network is an action research program under theInstitute of HumanNutrition and Food, College of Human Ecology at the University of the Philippines LosBanos.• Local gender-based indicator system in Regions I, VIII, XI, and XIIComplementing efforts at the national level, the NSCB formulated, in consultation with theRegional Statistical Coordination Committees (RSCCs) and concerned local groups, anindicator system for gender and development (GAD) in the regions. The regional/localindicator system was designed basically to address the peculiar GAD condition/situation in aparticular region.• Development of local governance statistics and indicator systemsWith the emergence of governance as a major concern towards sustainable development, theneed to generate and analyze relevant indicators has become a challenge for the PSS. TheNSCB, in response, initiated a project at the national level to develop and generate governanceindicators and to establish a database and information network. Initial indicators have beenidentified for further evaluation based on literature and similar or related studies. The projectwas funded through the Re-engineering the Government Statistical Services Project of theNSCB.Extending the results of the above study at the subnational level by utilizing provincial statisticsfrom the NSCB database on the Philippine Countryside in Figures, the NSCB staff were alsoable to come up for the first time the 2000 and 2002 estimates of the provincial goodgovernance index for all the provinces in the country.• Development of Local Productivity Performance Measurement System (LPPMS)The Local Productivity Performance Measurement System (LPPMS) of the Department ofInterior and Local Government (DILG) aims to develop performance measurement andassessment tools for LGUs in the Philippines that can be used effectively in LGU management,service delivery and development processes. There are three (3) primary and immediatepurposes served by LPPMS: 1) Supporting LGU development through improved use of6-8 Development of the Subnational Statistical System

Philippine Statistical Development Program, 2005-2010financial and human resources; 2) Providing a benchmark for LGU performance; and 3)Providing national policy-makers insights on areas for strategic policy reforms with respect toLGUs. It is a web-based national information system for and about LGUs. It provides for asingle database (stored in an Internet server) that stakeholders can access via the Internet.Data input and standard data reports generation can be done directly on-line. Stakeholders(provided they have the proper authority) may also download the data from the Internet.• Philippine Economic and Environment and Natural Resources Accounts (PEENRA)The PEENRA has become one of the pioneering outputs of the NSCB that have gainedrecognition in the international community. With the termination of the project that madepossible its development, the NSCB has initiated measures to institutionalize the frameworkand outputs despite lack of resources. It has pursued the identification of BenchmarkParameters on Environmental Protection and has come up with the PEENRA DataImprovement Plan in consultation with the stakeholders of the accounts.During the 1999-2004 PSDP period, the NSCB extended technical assistance on thedevelopment of the Philippine System of Integrated Economic--Environment and NaturalResources Accounts (PEENRA) for Palawan, the Cordillera Administrative Region, andEastern Visayas Region.• Development of other local administrative based statistics- Standard core indicators for municipal, city, and provincial socio-economic profiling forthe Province of Iloilo;- Municipal investment statistics by industry from a modified business licensing system,an initial output of a pilot joint project of the NSCB, RSCC, Department of Trade andIndustry CAR, and the Municipal Government ofTuba, Benguet;- Administrative-based system of generating tourism statistics in Baguio City through amodified LGU business licensing, a joint activity of the NSCB and RSCC CAR with theDepartment of Tourism and the City Government of Baguio;• Expansion of the National Statistical Information System (NSIC) in the regionsTo effect a balanced development of statistical system and improve the accessibility of thesubnational statistics, regional and provincial branches of the National Statistical InformationCenter (NSIC) were established.Realizing that information is a powerful tool in achieving socio-economic development, moreprogressive local government units such as the Provincial Government of Guimaras andNegros Occidental in Region VI have launched their own provincial NSICs in 2004 and 2005,respectively, in collaboration with the NSCB.• Enhanced preparation and dissemination of local statistical publicationsSome local publications with regional and provincial dimensions are now being producedregularly in multi-media such as print, broadcast, and electronic (CD ROM and Internet) by thesubnational statistical system through the NSCB. These include the following:- Regional Social and Economic Trends, an annual statistical yearbook for a particularregion that contains available regional and local disaggregation of sectoral statisticsfor Regions I, IV, V, VI, VIII, IX, XII, and CAR, in print and CD ROM;- Southern Mindanao Statistical Yearbook, an annual statistical yearbook featuringavailable regional and local disaggregation of sectoral statistics in Region XI, in printand CD ROM;- Regional publications on gender statistics in print and CD ROM: Women and Men(WAM) Statistical Handbook in Regions V and VIII, and Region I;Development of the Subnational Statistical System 6-9

Philippine Statistical Development Program, 2005-2010- Philippine Countryside in Figures, an annual publication that monitors the relativedevelopment in all the provinces in the country based on their rankings in keyprovincial social and economic indicators;- Provincial Countryside in Figures which monitors the relative development of themunicipalities in the province. This provides municipal breakdown of economic andsocial statistics available in the province;2.2 ISSUES AND CHALLENGESThere are a number of challenges that beset the development of the subnational statistical system.Insufficient coordinating structure at the subnational levelThe NSCB is empowered to establish mechanisms for statistical coordination at the regional, provincialand city levels. At present, however, it only has regional units/desk thereby limiting its ability to fullyexercise its functions at these levels. Moreover, the NSCB has no presence in Region II, III, VII, Caragaand ARMM. Some of the urgent tasks of the proposed units in these remaining regions are: (a) developstatistical data framework; (b) assess local statistical data and their generation based on the framework;(c) creation of new Regional Statistical Coordination Committees (RSCCs) and strengthen existing onesto resolve statistical issues which can be addressed at that level and provide technical and secretariatservices to the RSCCs; (d) formulate a regional statistical development program; and (e) providerelevant statistical support for regional development efforts.Lack of awareness and appreciation of the significance for statistics at the local levelThe insufficient/ lack of funds for statistical-related activities at the subnational level is aggravated bythe low statistical appreciation among the local government executives. As in the national level, theappreciation by local administrators and executives of the importance of statistics has been foundwanting. As a result, support of statistical activities and efforts to develop/improve the SSS have beeninadequate.There is a need to improve the quality, disaggregation and accessibility of local statisticsThe quality of statistics, i.e. population estimates, vital statistics, building permits, among others, beingproduced by the subnational statistical system (SSS) has been constantly questioned by data users.Inaccurate statistics as well as the duplication of activities resulting in conflicting or inconsistent datahave raised doubts among the users.Timely release of data has remained a problem since agency regional offices doing data collection workhave not been fully granted authority by their respective central offices to process/disseminate data attheir level. Majority of data producers continue to do data processing at their central office. In mostcases, regional offices and LGUS do not have the expertise and resources to perform processing,analysis and dissemination. The inconsistency of some statistical data could be traced to the generationof the same data item from surveys and administrative reports whose results are different.Need to establish or localize statistical frameworks in the provinces to strengthen the system of datageneration and address existing data gapsWhile several frameworks on various subject matter had been developed before and after the devolutionthrough special studies, projects and researches, not one single framework had been adopted orinstitutionalized in all the provinces in the country. This is due to several factors, e.g. budgetaryconstraints, lack of manpower, technology, infrastructure, weak dissemination and coordination, oneshot conduct of statistical activities and lack of convergence mechanisms. Fragmented and incoherentLGU based statistical initiatives by the academe and regional agencies (statistical and non-statisticalagencies) imposes monetary and non-monetary cost for LGUs and the national government. Hence,there is a need to implement an integrated statistical development program to address these problemsat the subnational level.Another major concern is the scarcity of small-area statistics or unavailability of provincial, city,municipal data which has been raised in various fora on subnational statistics. For instance, there is lackof early warning system of indicators which can be monitored at the city/municipal level to anticipate6-10 Development of the Subnational Statistical System

Philippine Statistical Development Program, 2005-2010emergency situation I.e. food shortages due to bombing of utilities, (e.g. airport and bus terminal) andother peace and order problems.In some areas, only benchmark data from old censuses or special surveys are available. Likewise,problems on aggregation and data sharing among provincial, city and municipal LGUs due to lack ofstandardized data base at the LGU level and lack of IT related skills also hamper the generation ofnecessary information at the local level. Data from administrative records are not yet fully exploited dueto lack of manpower resources and IT equipment to be used for processing. Statistics on agriculture,fisheries, forestry and solid waste management are not available at the city/municipal level. Other datagaps identified at the local level deal with priority concerns such as income, housing, finance,investment, wages and compensation. Data processing and dissemination of some sectoral and vitalstatistics remain centralized. These deficiencies underscore the need for further advocacy todecentralize the processing and dissemination of data at the local levels together with thestandardization of data collection and compilation of local statistics among LGUs to reduce the time lagof release and make these information accessible to local planners.Data gaps in the generation of the regional and provincial accountsRegional accounts are still being compiled by the NSCB through its Economic Statistics Office (ESO)with assistance from the NSCB regional divisions which are present only in ten regions of the country.Since these accounts are designed to measure the economic performance of the region, the clamor forthese accounts to be compiled at the regional level increased and points to the need to transfer theestimation to the NSCB regional divisions. This merits further study considering the absence of anNSCB regional unit in the seven remaining regions which would meet the needs of the regional incomeaccounts and other existing data gaps at the regional and subregional levels.With the devolution of powers and functions to the local government units, the regions are no longerpolitical nor administrative units. Thus, local planning and programming of funds now rest on theprovincial and municipal government units. In view of these developments, the clamor for thegeneration of the provincial accounts had increased.Inadequate financial resourcesThe inadequacy of resources for undertaking statistical activities, such as data collection/improvement,statistical R & D, institution building/enhancement and statistical manpower development, is more felt atthe subnational level. Considering the expected increase in development activities in the regions due todecentralization, financial resources being channeled to the regions need to be augmented to enablethe SSS to provide the required information support to the planning, programming and budgetingfunctions of the local executives. Weak IT capabilities due to lack/unavailability of hardware andsoftware for data processing, storage and dissemination.Inadequate statistical manpower complement and the need for career system and manpowerdevelopment programDecentralization entails greater involvement of regional/local statistical personnel in the collection,processing and dissemination of data for planning, policy-formulation and decision-making. However,due to the low compensation scheme, professional statisticians have been deterred from pursuing theircareer in the government particularly in the regions. This problem has contributed greatly to a fastturnover rate among regional statistical workers. As a result, non-statisticians do statistical work in someagencies in the region and at the local level. Thus, the subnational statistical system has long been inneed of adequate and continuous supply of statistical manpower.In view of these developments, it is important to undertake special programs for the development andacquisition as well as retention of the needed skills at the local level. It is also necessary to continuouslyupgrade the quality of existing statistical manpower at the subnational level. This situation calls for thesetting-up of a career system for statisticians in government and the formulation and implementation ofa responsive and comprehensive statistical manpower development program.III. STATISTICAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, 2005-2010For the Plan period 2005-2010, local statistical development efforts will be geared towards measuringthe implementation of the Medium Term Development Plan 2005 to 2010, the Ten Point Agenda at theDevelopment of the Subnational Statistical System 6-11

Philippine Statistical Development Program, 2005-2010local level as well as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in order to improve the country’sperformance and enhance the people’s quality of life at the national and subnational level.The increasing costs of conducting surveys coupled with the existing budget constraints of thegovernment has limited the conduct of national surveys down to the regional level only. Thus, there is ascarcity of complete and timely local statistics with provincial, municipal and barangay disaggregationduring intercensal period.Aside from the availability of local statistics, a major growing concern is the reliability and comparabilityof local data with the national figures. In the absence of national census and survey data at theprovincial level, more attention are now given on the LGU generated statistics as a source of informationin the integration of national and local development plans and programs. It is against this backdrop, thatthe statistical programs for the plan period 2005 to 2010 had been formulated.The following therefore are the priority thrusts and strategies on subnational statistical development forthe Plan Period 2005 to 2010:Establish and improve the local statistical planning and coordination structuresTo address the problem on insufficient and weak statistical coordination structures at the local levels,there is need to establish local statistical planning and coordinating structures at the provincial,municipal and barangay levels. Thus, one of the major thrusts in the PSDP 2005 to 2010 is to establishand improve the local statistical planning and coordination structures.Recommendations to improve the local statistical planning and coordination structures had beenconsidered in the ongoing Agency Rationalization Plan submitted by the statistical agencies to theDepartment of Budget and Management.Strengthen the implementation and development of statistical coordination mechanisms at the local levelWith the emerging demand for more local statistics at the provincial, city, municipality and evenbarangay levels, there is a need to bring regional statistical coordination at least down to the provinciallevels. Thus, another major thrust in the PSDP 2005-2010 is to strengthen the implementation anddevelopment of existing statistical coordination mechanisms at the local level by drawing in theparticipation of local government units. This is necessary to resolve the issues on duplicating statisticsat the local level, enhance the comparability and consistency of local and national data and ensure theadoption of statistical standards and sound statistical methodologies at the local levels.Among the statistical coordination mechanisms that need to be strengthened at the local level are asfollows: the statistical budget review system, forms and clearance system, adoption of standardconcepts, classification systems and techniques at the subnational level and development andimplementation of the subnational statistical development program.Sustain and improve the relevance, accuracy, timeliness and accessibility of local statisticsTo address the inadequate or lack of relevant, reliable, timely and accessible local statistics, there is aneed to implement programs that will sustain and improve the relevance, accuracy, timeliness andaccessibility of local statisticsEnhance and improve accessibility to and delivery of statistical information and servicesEnhance the statistical human resource development at the local levelsStrengthen implementation and monitoring of local statistical research and development effortsTo accelerate statistical development in the countryside during the medium-term, a four-prongedapproach shall be adopted to address four (4) main areas of concerns:• Strengthening of subnational statistical planning and coordination to accelerate statisticaldevelopment at the local level;• Improving and harmonizing standards on subnational data production and dissemination withthe national standards;6-12 Development of the Subnational Statistical System

Philippine Statistical Development Program, 2005-2010• Enhancing subnational statistical human resource development;• Embarking on more relevant and world class statistical research and methodologies.Some of the priority programs identified are the following:Establishment of NSCB Regional DivisionsEstablishment of NSCB Regional Divisions in Region II, III, IVB, VII, Caraga, ARMM and NCR. This willserve as the NSCB regional offices and technical secretariat of RSCCs. Budget proposals to establishan NSCB RD in these regions should be continuously integrated with the NSCB annual budgetsubmitted to the Department of Budget and Management for approval.The NSCB RDs shall likewise maintain and administer the regional branches of the National StatisticalInformation Center (NSIC) as a public service of the NSCB. The Center will provide a stop-shop ofstatistical information products and services that will cater to the information needs of stakeholders atthe local level.Estimation of Regional and Provincial/City AccountsDecentralized estimation of regional and provincial/city product and expenditure accounts and otherrelated accounts.Local/Small Area Poverty Statistics/Poverty MappingConduct of provincial poverty mapping, institutionalization of poverty mapping at the LGUs, andidentification of focal person/team on poverty statistics in every province to fast track data collection forupdating of the provincial poverty maps.Local Education StatisticsContinued and enhanced implementation of the Basic Education Information System (BEIS) at thesubnational level.Local Governance StatisticsEnhancement of Local Government Capacities for Performance Monitoring System (LGPMS).Local Health StatisticsConduct of consultation/data validation on health data between MHOs/CHOs and PHO. Continuousimprovement of the Field Health Services Information System (FHSIS).Generation of local statistics on emerging concernsGeneration of local statistics in support of the monitoring of the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs)and other emerging concerns such as Information and Communication Technology, Housing and LocalGovernance.Other statistical development programs:Strengthening statistical coordination through the expansion of the Regional/ Provincial StatisticalCoordination Committee (RSCCs/ PSCCs)Statistical coordination shall be strengthened and expanded during the period 2005 to 2010 through theexpansion or establishment of Regional /Provincial Statistical Coordination Committees (RSCCs/PSCCs) in the regions and provinces where these are not yet operational.Establishment of the system of designated statistics at the local level and adoption of standard conceptsand methodologiesThere is a need to implement or bring down the National System of Designated Statistics to the locallevel. (See Chapter 1 - Management and Coordination of the PSS)Development of the Subnational Statistical System 6-13

Philippine Statistical Development Program, 2005-2010Development and harmonization of local databases and information systems especially those beingused to monitor the growth corridors/centersA statistical database system is one mechanism which could effect improvements in the disseminationof timely statistics at the subnational level. The system will be operationalized to give users easieraccess to data. Aside from serving data storage and retrieval functions, the system will also performdata analysis, manipulation and report generation. Trainings on the various features of the system willbe conducted to ensure its proper use.In support of the government’s thrust to achieve decentralized development through the creation ofgrowth corridors/centers in the countryside, it is necessary to establish new or enhance existingdatabases and information systems on the conditions and progress of the country’s growth corridorssuch as the Subic or EAGA growth corridors.Development and localization of relevant frameworks and indicator systems such as thenational/regional/provincial product accounts and indicator systems including the MillenniumDevelopment Goals to measure decentralized socio-economic developmentThe development of a subnational data framework will be useful in the assessment of data production atthe regional and local levels in support of local development planning. Through these framework, datagaps and other problems related to data production will be readily identified and addressed.In this regard, there is a need to develop subnational data frameworks such as the regional/provincialproduct accounts and indicator systems and also localize international frameworks which the Philippineshas committed to undertake within the program period such as the Millennium Development Goals(MDG).Expansion of the Implementation of the Community Based Monitoring System (CBMS)In 2005, about 88 municipalities out of the 1,500 municipalities of the country 2005 have conducted theCBMS. Thus, there is a need to expand the implementation of CBMS to cover the remainingmunicipalitiesStrengthening the LGU-based administrative-based reporting systems to fill in the information gap andcomplement the regional coverage of national surveysIn 2003, a new master sample for household surveys that can only generate regional estimates hadbeen adopted by the statistical system. This created a gap in the information on households at theprovincial level. In order to address this issue, it is necessary that a vigorous program be undertaken tostrengthen LGU administrative-based reporting systems as the powers and functions had beendevolved to the LGUs.Intensify local advocacy through the preparation and dissemination of more local statistical publicationsand other forms of mediaThere is a need to regularly inform and educate data producers and users on statistical developments inorder to promote statistical awareness and appreciation. This will be addressed through the preparationand dissemination of statistical publications. The publications will include a statistical newsletter whichcontains national/local statistical activities and events, a statistical directory of organizational units withinan office/agency, state colleges and universities and local government units and the statistical activitiesengage by the units and the statistical activities engaged in by the unit, and a yearbook which willcompile data series with subnational disaggregations.Creation and/ or designation of statistical units and positions in agency regional offices as well asbarangay statistical officers (BSO) under the local government units in all barangays in the countryThe devolution of basic health, social welfare, environmental services to the local government units hasaffected the established system of data collection at the local level. Thus, resulting statistics are notcomparable, hence, aggregation of statistics at provincial, regional and national level is difficult, if notimpossible. In order to improve the generation of local statistics, it is imperative that a barangaystatistical officer be designated at the barangay level.6-14 Development of the Subnational Statistical System

Philippine Statistical Development Program, 2005-2010Establishment of a Local Integrated Statistical Manpower Development Program (SMDP) and CareerMotivation Development Program (CMDP) at the local levelThe knowledge and skills of subnational statistical personnel will be continuously updated and upgradedthrough the regular conduct of seminar-workshops, conferences and symposia. These will serve asavenues for the presentation and discussion of findings of statistical researches, developmental studiesas well as the latest statistical technologies that can be applied at the subnational level.Non-degree and short-term trainings on statistical data management, research design, statistical reportwriting, estimation methodologies for incomplete or small area data and computer utilization will also beconducted for regional and local government units’ statistical personnel. Other training courses will beidentified through an assessment of the training needs/requirements of concerned statistical workers atall levels in the region. The Statistical Research and Training Center, which is mandated to conduct nondegreetraining programs, will be tapped to conduct the trainings.For degree training courses, statistical personnel and personnel and faculty members of state collegesand universities both at the regional and subregional levels will be provided with opportunities to pursuemasteral/doctoral programs in statistics.On the other hand, the career system of subregional statistical personnel will also involve thedevelopment of a Professional Certification Program. Certificates will be awarded to statistical personnelwho have completed a series of training programs in statistical theory and applications. The system willbe monitored to determine the progress made in terms of improving the quality of technical personnel atthe subnational level.Establishment of a Local Statistical Research and Development (R & D) ProgramThe devolution of powers and functions has imposed greater demands and responsibilities on the localgovernment units, hence, the need for new critical information at the local level.In this regard, there is a need to establish a Local Statistical Research and Development Program that istailor made or will cater to the needs of the LGUs. As the budget for LGU activities had also beendevolved, it is desirable that this be funded by the LGUs or from the Internal Revenue Allocation (IRA).Research and development activities to improve data use and production systems at the subnationallevel will be conducted during the period 2005 to 2010 focusing on new and better cost-effectivemethodologies to generate, indirectly estimate and analyze small area data.Development of the Subnational Statistical System 6-15