Reorganization of Philippine Statistical System

Purpose and policy commitments

Executive Order No. 121 reorganizes the Philippine Statistical System to promote efficiency and effectiveness in public service delivery.
Executive Order No. 121 responds to a decentralized system structure that has produced duplication, conflicting statistics, data gaps, and unnecessary burden on respondents.
Executive Order No. 121 rationalizes the allocation of resources for the collection of statistics.
Executive Order No. 121 maintains a decentralized system characterized by independence, objectivity and integrity, and makes it more responsive to national development needs.
Executive Order No. 121 strengthens coordination to promote orderly development and to provide timely, accurate and useful data for government and the public, especially for planning and decision-making.
Executive Order No. 121 ensures the development and maintenance of high-level statistical manpower in government.

Philippine Statistical System structure

The Philippine Statistical System (PSS) is reorganized structurally and functionally under Executive Order No. 121 (Section 2).
The PSS consists of statistical organizations at all administrative levels, their personnel, and the national statistical program (Section 3).
The PSS includes a policy-making and coordinating body, a statistical research and training center, a single general purpose statistical agency, and industries, bureaus of offices, agencies and instrumentalities of national and local government (Section 3).
The PSS includes government-owned or controlled corporations and their subsidiaries engaged in statistical activities as primary functions or as part of administrative or regulatory functions (Section 3).
The PSS remains decentralized with strong coordination achieved through closer linkage between statistical programming and budgeting (Section 3).
Existing government offices, agencies, instrumentalities, government-owned or controlled corporations, and their subsidiaries engaged in statistical activities continue to discharge their statistical functions under existing laws and rules unless modified by the NSCB (Section 15).

National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB)

A National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) is created as the highest policy-making and coordinating body on statistical matters (Section 4).
The NSCB is composed of:
- The NEDA Director-General (or designated representative) as Chairman (Section 4);
- The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Budget and Management as Vice-Chairman (Section 4);
- One representative each from the remaining ministries at the rank of Deputy Minister (Section 4);
- The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank (Section 4);
- The Administrator of the National Statistics Office (Section 4);
- The Secretary General of the NSCB (Section 4);
- The Governor or City Mayor nominated by the League of Governors and City Mayors (Section 4); and
- One private sector member elected by other NSCB members for three years (Section 4).
NSCB decisions on statistical matters are final and executory (Section 4).
The NSCB’s powers and functions include promoting an efficient statistical system, formulating policies, recommending executive and legislative measures, establishing coordination mechanisms at regional/provincial/city levels, approving the Philippine Statistical Development Program, and allocating statistical responsibilities including periodicity and content (Section 5(a)–(g)).
The NSCB must:
- Review budgetary proposals involving statistical operations and submit an integrated budget for the PSS to the MBM (Section 5(g));
- Review and clear, prior to release, all funds for statistical operations (Section 5(h));
- Develop, prescribe, and maintain a framework to improve statistical coordination (Section 5(i)); and
- Prescribe uniform standards and classification systems in government statistics (Section 5(j)).
The NSCB shall not engage directly in any basic data collection activity (Section 5).

NSCB technical staff and Secretary General

The NSCB may create inter-agency committees (IAC) to assist it in exercising its functions (Section 8).
The NSCB has a Technical Staff performing technical and secretarial support to the NSCB, acting as statistical clearinghouse and liaison for international statistical matters, and performing other functions assigned by the NSCB (Section 6).
The Technical Staff is headed by a Secretary General with the rank of Deputy Minister.
The Secretary General is appointed by the President, must have proven competence and recognized stature in the statistical profession (Section 7).

National Statistics Office (NSO) role

The National Census and Statistics Office is renamed as the National Statistics Office (NSO) (Section 9).
The NSO is the major statistical agency responsible for generating general purpose statistics and undertaking censuses and surveys designated by the NSCB (Section 9).
The NSO is headed by an Administrator with the rank of Deputy Minister.
The NSO Administrator is appointed by the President and must have recognized stature and proven competence in statistics (Section 9).

Statistical Research and Training Center (SRTC)

A Statistical Research and Training Center (SRTC) is created (Section 10).
The SRTC must develop an integrated research and training program on theories, concepts, and methodologies, and undertake research on statistical concepts, definitions, and methods (Section 10(a)–(b)).
The SRTC must promote collaborative research among the academic community, data producers, and users (Section 10(c)).
The SRTC conducts non-degree training programs to upgrade the quality of statistical personnel and expand the statistical manpower base (Section 10(d)).
The SRTC provides financial and other forms of assistance to enhance statistical research and development (Section 10(e)).
The SRTC has a Governing Board that formulates policies for management and operations (Section 11).
The Secretary General of the NSCB chairs the SRTC Governing Board (Section 11).
Members of the SRTC Governing Board include: the NSO Administrator, Director of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, Dean of the University of the Philippines Statistical Center, Executive Director of the Philippine Social Science Council, a representative of NEDA, and the Director of the SRTC as ex-officio member (Section 11).
The SRTC has an Executive Director appointed by the SRTC Governing Board.
The Executive Director receives salary and remuneration determined by the SRTC Governing Board (Section 12).

SRTC funding and endowment

An SRTC Endowment Fund is established consisting of contributions, donations, bequests, grants and loans from domestic and/or foreign sources, government appropriations, and other incomes accruing from SRTC operations (Section 13).
The SRTC Endowment Fund finances the carrying out of the SRTC functions under Section 10(a) to (e) (Section 13).
A government initial contribution of SEVEN MILLION PESOS (P 7,000,000.00) is appropriated for the SRTC Endowment Fund (Section 13).
An initial operating fund of THREE MILLION PESOS (P 3,000,000.00) is appropriated and programmed for immediate release out of any unappropriated balances in the National Treasury or other sources (Section 14).

Designated statistics; data access

The NSCB designates statistics that agencies must collect, compile, process, and disseminate under the statistical calendar approved by the NSCB (Section 16).
The NSCB promulgates and implements rules and regulations concerning designated statistics (Section 16).
The NSCB periodically reviews the list of designated statistics as it deems appropriate (Section 16).
Individuals, institutions, or instrumentalities are entitled to access unpublished data held by government agencies, subject to existing laws, rules, and regulations on confidentiality of information.
The requesting party must assume the cost incurred in obtaining access to unpublished data in accordance with existing laws, rules, and regulations (Section 17).
Agencies conducting statistical inquiries must ensure the timely release of results to the general public in compliance with the statistical calendar approved by the NSCB (Section 18).
All government agencies must adopt NSCB-prescribed statistical standards, including standard concepts and definitions, techniques, procedures, and classification systems (Section 19).

Programming, funds control, and budgeting

The NSCB is responsible for reviewing and prioritizing statistical activities in coordination with appropriate government agencies, within the budgetary ceiling provided by the MBM (Section 20).
The NSCB determines how available financial resources are allocated among prioritized activities (Section 20).
The MBM releases funds in accordance with priorities set by the NSCB (Section 20).
The NSCB must also review and clear funds for statistical operations prior to release (Section 5(h)).

Abolition, transitory treatment, and separation

Committees on Statistical development created under Letter of Instructions No. 601, the Statistical Advisory Board created under Part VI, Chapter II, Article II of the 1972 Integrated Reorganization Plan, and the Statistical Coordination Office of the NEDA are abolished (Section 21).
The abolished bodies’ appropriations, records and properties (if any), and personnel necessary for continuity are transferred to the NSCB (Section 21).
Reorganization transfers must include functions, appropriations, funds, records, equipment, facilities, choses in action, rights, other assets, and liabilities (if any), and personnel necessary for proper discharge, with personnel continuing in a hold-over capacity and receiving corresponding salaries and benefits unless separated under Executive Order No. 17 (1986) or Article III of the Freedom Constitution (Section 22(a)–(c)).
Personnel whose positions are not included in the Philippine Statistical System’s new position structure and staffing pattern approved and prescribed by the NSCB Chairman, or who are not reappointed, are deemed separated and entitled to the benefits stated in Section 23 (Section 22(a)–(f)).
When an abolition causes a unit’s functions to end, remaining appropriations and funds revert to the General Fund, remaining assets are allocated or disposed according to the Government Auditing Code and other pertinent laws, and liabilities are treated under the Government Auditing Code and pertinent laws; personnel continue in hold-over capacity unless separated (Section 22(b)).
When functions are transferred without abolishing the operating unit, remaining assets and liabilities are handled under the Government Auditing Code and pertinent laws, and affected personnel continue in hold-over capacity subject to separation rules (Section 22(c)).
When a government unit is abolished and its functions do not transfer, appropriations and funds revert to the General Fund, records/equipment/facilities/choses in action/rights/other assets are allocated or disposed as directed by the NSCB Chairman or under the Government Auditing Code and pertinent laws, and liabilities are handled under the Government Auditing Code and pertinent laws (Section 22(d)).
In merger or consolidation, the new or surviving unit acquires functions and the appropriations, funds, records, equipment, facilities, choses in action, rights, other assets, liabilities (if any), and personnel of merged or absorbed units; personnel continue in hold-over capacity subject to separation rules (Section 22(e)).
For termination of a function that does not abolish the performing unit, appropriations and funds intended for the function revert to the General Fund, assets used in connection with the function are allocated or disposed as directed by the NSCB Chairman or under the Government Auditing Code and pertinent laws, and liabilities are handled under the Government Auditing Code and pertinent laws; personnel are separated if their positions are not included or they are not appointed (Section 22(f)).

New structure timeline; benefits; injunction bar

The NSCB Chairman must approve and prescribe the new position structure and staffing pattern for the Statistical System within one hundred twenty (120) days from approval of the Executive Order (Section 23).
Incumbent officers and employees of abolished entities continue in hold-over capacity after approval until separation or reappointment under the applicable rules (Section 23).
Authorized positions created under the new structure are filled with regular appointments by the NSCB Chairman or the President as the case may be (Section 23).
Those incumbents whose positions are not included in the approved structure or who are not reappointed are deemed separated from the service (Section 23).
Separated employees receive retirement benefits they may be entitled to under existing laws, rules, and regulations (Section 23).
Otherwise, separated employees are paid the equivalent of one-month basic salary for every year of service, or the equivalent nearest fraction thereof based on highest salary received, with a maximum cap of the equivalent of 12 months salary (Section 23).
No court or administrative body may issue any writ or preliminary injunction or restraining order to enjoin separation or replacement of any officer or employee effected under the Executive Order (Section 23).

Creditors notice; evaluation; approvals

If a reorganization change is of such substance or materiality that it prejudices third persons with rights recognized by law or contract such that notice to or consent of creditors is required under any agreement, notice or consent must be obtained prior to implementation of the reorganizational change (Section 24).
The NSCB Chairman must formulate and enforce a periodic system to measure NSCB performance objectively.
The performance evaluation system must be submitted semi-annually and annually to the President (Section 25).
No change in the reorganization prescribed is valid unless the President approves it for the purpose of promoting efficiency and effectiveness in delivering public service (Section 26).

Funding source; implementing rules; separability

Funds needed to carry out the reorganization of any agency or office resulting from the Executive Order are taken from funds available in the affected agency or office (Section 27).
The NSCB Chairman must issue rules, regulations, and other issuances necessary to ensure effective implementation of the Executive Order (Section 28).
Any portion of the Executive Order declared unconstitutional does not nullify the remaining portions if they can still subsist and be given effect in their entirety (Section 29).
All laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, other issuances, or parts thereof inconsistent with the Executive Order are repealed or modified accordingly (Section 30).
The Executive Order takes effect immediately upon its approval (Section 31).