Refusal to participate in census punishable by law – PSA

MANILA, Philippines — As the conduct of the 2020 Census of Population and Housing kicks off today, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reminded the public that refusal to participate in the census and provision of false information are punishable under the law.

Florante Varona, National Censuses Services officer-in-charge, said Filipinos are required by law to participate in the census.

“The law states that citizens of the Philippines have the obligation to answer to statistical inquiry,” he said in Filipino during an interview over dzBB. “Refusal to do so bears the punishment of one year imprisonment and fine of P100,000.”

For the entire month of September, enumerators hired by the PSA will engage households in a survey lasting between 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 as well as information on the house the respondents currently live, such as the type of house and if it is owned or rented.

The census was originally scheduled for conduct in May but was postponed because of the lockdowns imposed to control the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019.

Its results, 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.

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.

As Varona urged the public to be wary of individuals pretending to be PSA enumerators, he said the enumerators would be wearing uniforms and identification. Their identities can also be verified in barangay offices because they will first approach barangay leaders for a courtesy call before conducting the census. In some instances, they will be escorted by barangay staff or officials.

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 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.

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.

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 from 15 minutes up to 30 minutes. Other options will be the scheduling of a phone interview or accomplishment of the questionnaire online using a code to be provided by enumerators.