Census to push through next month

MANILA, Philippines — The conduct of the 2020 Census of Population and Housing will push through on Sept. 1 after being postponed because of the lockdown, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced yesterday.

For the entire month of September, enumerators hired by the PSA will engage households in a survey lasting from 15 to 30 minutes.

Household heads will be asked about the number and names of persons residing in their homes. Other demographic-related questions like gender, age and educational attainment will also be asked.

Information on the house the respondents currently live in will also be collected such as the type of house and if it is owned or rented.

The results of the census, targeted for release in the second quarter of 2021, will update the population count of the country and provide information on housing stock and characteristics.

As of the 2015 Census of Population, the number of Filipinos was placed at 100.98 million.

National statistician and civil registrar general Dennis Mapa said that as of July 2020, it was estimated that the population has ballooned to 108.8 million with males outnumbering females.

He assured the public that information provided to enumerators will be kept confidential and will be used solely for the purpose of the census in line with the provisions of Section 28 of the Philippine Statistical Act of 2013 and Section eight of the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

“The Philippine Statistics Authority will only release aggregated information from the census via summaries of statistical tables,” said Mapa.

“No data or tabulation will give out the identity of individuals or households,” he said. “With these kinds of questions, we could get a picture of the living condition in the household and the impact of the pandemic.”

Mapa also noted that all data collected during the census will remain with the PSA as its conduct has not been outsourced.

In compliance with the public health and safety standards set by the government amid the pandemic, enumerators will follow the wearing of personal protective equipment and practice social distancing. They will also present proper identification when they approach homes.

“Our data enumerators will strictly adhere to health and safety protocols. These include the wearing of face masks and shields as well as social distancing,” said Mapa.

Upon engaging the head of the household, enumerators will provide them with options for answering the survey.

These can be in the form of a face-to-face census interview that will last around 15 minutes up to 30 minutes.

In keeping with social distancing measures, respondents may respond to the survey at their doorstep but are encouraged to finish the survey.

Other options will be the scheduling of a phone interview or accomplishment of the questionnaire online using a code to be provided by enumerators.

Households may also request that the questionnaire form be accomplished in their own time and picked up at a later time by the enumerator.

This questionnaire consists of eight pages and 53 items.

Mapa enjoined Filipinos to participate in the census and to answer the survey truthfully.

“Solidarity is what we need especially in these challenging times. Let us help each other by participating and making the census results more accurate,” he said.

The results of the census will guide development planning at the national and local level and will be particularly useful in coming up with policies for reducing poverty.

The government is spending P3.8 billion for the conduct of the 2020 census. Around 140,000 personnel were hired nationwide, 113,364 of which are enumerators.

PSA has scheduled the conduct of the census for the whole month of September but Mapa noted that adjustments in the timetable may arise to give way to possibilities of localized lockdowns.

Areas deemed high risk for COVID-19 transmission may also have to be temporarily avoided or scheduled for conduct of alternative means of data collection.

“We expect the time table to slide a little. Some areas may also be under lockdown. So we will go back to them when the local officials allow it,” said Mapa.

“We will not go to high risk areas without the clearance of barangay officials.”

The census was originally scheduled for conduct in May but was postponed because of the pandemic lockdown. – Elizabeth Marcelo