THE Philippines advocated for a comprehensive approach to developing an inclusive and agile statistical system during the 9th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific’s Committee on Statistics, held from Dec. 11 to 13, 2024, at the UN Conference Center in Bangkok.
Undersecretary Claire Dennis Mapa, national statistician and civil registrar general at the Philippine Statistics Authority, led the Philippine delegation alongside Undersecretary Lisa Grace Bersales, executive director of the Commission on Population and Development.
In the Philippine statement presented to the regional body, Undersecretary Mapa emphasized the significance of a comprehensive approach and the necessary political and financial support for inclusive statistical systems in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Undersecretary Claire Dennis Mapa. Photo By Ismael De Juan
He noted that strong collaboration among government, private sector, and other stakeholders has been critical to ensuring that statistical outputs are inclusive, comprehensive and relevant to policymaking.
Undersecretary Mapa reaffirmed the Philippines’ commitment to creating a more agile, innovative and responsive statistical system, including civil and national ID registration for all Filipinos.
He highlighted the Philippine government’s successful implementation of the 2024 Census of Population and the Community-Based Monitoring System (Popcen-CBMS), the Provincial Product Accounts (PPA), and the enactment of the Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (Pencas) Act.
Popcen-CBMS updates population statistics and identifies beneficiaries of social protection programs utilized by local government units, while the PPA assesses economic performance at the local level.
The Pencas Act incorporates natural capital considerations into the country’s statistical frameworks.
Undersecretary Mapa pointed out that the community-based monitoring systems (CBMS) initiative is a vital step toward using generated statistical data to formulate policies and programs that ensure everyone is included.
Undersecretary Bersales, who participated as a panelist in a roundtable discussion on promoting and advancing agile statistical systems, emphasized the importance of proactive engagement at international, national, and subnational levels to attract more investments.
This engagement aims to enhance national statistics offices’ capabilities in meeting their stakeholders’ diverse demands.
The 9th Session of the Committee on Statistics marked the conclusion of the Asia Pacific Statistics Week, which was organized by Unescap from Dec. 9 to 13, 2024.
This weeklong event with the theme “The Power of Data” also included the 20th session of the Governing Council of the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific and various expert group meetings and side events.
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