A REGIONAL officer from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) clarified that penalties will still be upheld for uncooperative households during the Census of Population and Community-Based Monitoring System (PopCen-CBMS) implementation.
Ma. Leah C. Magracia, officer-in-charge in the Statistical Operations and Coordination Division (SOCD) of PSA-Regional Statistical Services Office 11 (RSSO 11), said that they only want to convince and not force the households to cooperate with the consensus project, but are still backed up by Republic Act 10625.
“Dili namo gusto [ipugos] na ing-ani jud siya kay, as much as possible, we would like to convince lang. Kanang cooperation lang ang among gusto, but the 10625, naa’y ngipon… There are penalties kung dili mo mu-cooperate ug muhatag og correct na information,” Magracia said.
(We do not want to force [people], since as much as possible, we would only like to convince them. We only want cooperation, but 10625 has penalties for those who do not cooperate and won’t give correct information)
According to RA 10625 or the “Philippine Statistical Act of 2013” under Rule 30, “any violation of this Act shall result in the imposition of the penalty of one (1) year imprisonment and a fine of One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000)” for persons who do not answer the statistics interview truthfully.
However, Magracia reassured that the enumerators tasked with the upcoming implementation are well-trained for the project. She also reiterated that the government agency does not wish to highlight the punishment and asks for the understanding of the households.
The PopCen-CBMS is a statistical monitoring activity that will be conducted from July 15 to September 16, 2024, or a total of 55 days.
PSA and its partner government agencies aim to achieve a better grasp and accurate data collection through this project for policy-makers and local government units to know the needs of the population.
This project will also help in updating the list of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries, checking those who are still qualified for the program. DEF with reports from Allyssa Kaye Casas, AdDU Intern
