QuestionsQuestions (PROCLAMATION NO. 1179)
RA No. 10625 (Philippine Statistical Act of 2013) provides that the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is primarily responsible for national censuses and surveys, among other statistical functions.
Section 6(b) of RA No. 10625 mandates the PSA to prepare and conduct periodic censuses on population, housing, and other sectors.
BP Blg. 72 (s. 1980) provides that an integrated national census shall be taken every ten (10) years beginning 1980, with the first day of May of every regular census year as the reference date.
Executive Order No. 352 (s. 1996) directs a census every ten (10) years primarily to update the population count at the national level down to the barangay level.
It declared May 2020 as “National Census Month,” forming part of the context for the 2020 Census of Population and Housing.
The census was conducted by the PSA in September 2020, with 01 May 2020 as the reference date.
They become official for all purposes only upon proclamation by the President, after processing the census returns.
The President, as stated in the proclamation, acting by virtue of powers vested by the Constitution and existing laws, proclaims the results as official.
The proclamation declares the total population of the Philippines as of 01 May 2020 as 109,035,343 persons.
It authoritatively fixes the population count at the levels stated (province/city/municipality/barangay) and makes it binding for purposes where official population figures are required by law or for government planning.
The proclamation refers to the “2020 Census of Population and Housing by Province, City/Municipality and Barangay,” which is attached and made an integral part of the proclamation.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
To establish that the President’s authority to issue the proclamation is derived not only from specific statutes like BP Blg. 72, but also from constitutional authority and other existing legal powers.
It provides that the final population count, after processing census returns, is considered official only upon proclamation by the President, which is precisely what Proclamation No. 1179 does.