Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 10625)
The short title of Republic Act No. 10625 is the "Philippine Statistical Act of 2013."
The policy is to reorganize and promote efficiency and effectiveness in the Philippine Statistical System (PSS), maintain an integrated system characterized by independence, objectivity, and integrity, enhance responsiveness to national development requirements, provide timely and accurate data, and support decentralization through statistical infrastructure development.
The PSS consists of statistical organizations at all administrative levels, including a policymaking body, a coordinating body with primary data collection capability, a statistical research and training institute, and all government agencies and government-owned and controlled corporations engaged in statistical activities either primarily or administratively.
The PSA is the central statistical authority responsible for primary data collection, national censuses and surveys, sectoral statistics, and compilation of national accounts. It is attached to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for policy coordination.
The PSA's functions include serving as the central statistical authority for primary data collection; conducting censuses and surveys; collecting, compiling, analyzing, and publishing statistical information; enforcing civil registration functions; collaborating with government agencies; promoting integrated statistics; maintaining statistical standards; coordinating statistical activities at various levels; recommending measures to improve statistical programs; and other duties as assigned by the PSA Board.
The PSA Board is composed of the NEDA Director-General (Chairperson), Secretary of DBM (Vice Chairperson), National Statistician, representatives from other government departments, BSP, PSRTI, Philippine Statistical Association, GOCCs, ULAP, and private sector appointees. The Board is the highest policy-making body on statistical matters that formulates policies, reviews programs and budgets, and coordinates statistical activities within the government.
Violations of data provision result in one (1) year imprisonment and a fine of One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00). For corporations, responsible officers incur the same penalty, with fines ranging from One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) to Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00) depending on the size of the enterprise.
Individual information provided is considered privileged communication and inadmissible as evidence in any proceeding. The PSA may release only aggregated data that does not identify individuals or entities. Confidentiality does not apply to lists or indexes containing business names, addresses, products, and size ranges, microdata used for research with identity protection, and census data older than 100 years for research purposes.
The National Statistician must have experience in data management and at least a Master's degree in Statistics. The National Statistician is appointed by the President from nominees submitted by a special committee and serves a five-year term, renewable.
The National Statistics Office (NSO), Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES), and National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) were abolished, and their appropriations, records, properties, and personnel were transferred to the PSA.