NEDA underscores critical role of statistics in planning and policy-making

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said a robust and responsive statistical system is indispensable in formulating sound and impactful public policies and interventions.

In his address at the joint opening ceremony of the 33rd National Statistics Month (NSM) and the 15th National Convention on Statistics (NCS) organized by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), NEDA Secretary and PSA Board Chairperson Arsenio M. Balisacan affirmed that properly harnessing data through a robust statistical system enables the public sector to craft policies that will uplift the lives of Filipinos during the country’s economic recovery.

“Policymakers, armed with correct information and data, can design and implement better policies that will help our country sustain its recovery from the scarring inflicted by the pandemic and overcome the significant challenges that we are facing today,” said Balisacan.

Balisacan stressed that the government can only address today’s pressing challenges, such as the rising inflation for various commodities and disruptions in global and local supply chains, through solutions informed by careful analysis.

He also emphasized that the formulation of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028 is a process founded on and informed by relevant statistics and socioeconomic indicators. The PDP, as the country’s medium-term development blueprint, will identify key development and sectoral issues, lay out strategies, and propose legislative outputs that will be critical to meeting the government’s socioeconomic targets for the next six years.

“We cannot make progress if we do not know where we presently stand and where we are going. The reliable and timely production of relevant statistics help inform and shape our policies such that we are able to precisely identify where interventions are most needed, which segments of the population will be affected by implemented reforms (and by how much), and how these strategies will ultimately contribute to our desired socioeconomic targets for indicators such as poverty, GDP per capita, GDP growth, inflation, and employment,” said Balisacan.

He also noted the adverse effects of uninformed and unfounded policies, stating that these create unintended consequences that can take years or decades to mend.

“With our tight fiscal space, we in the public sector have a paramount responsibility not only to ourselves, but to future generations of Filipinos, to ensure that our resources are spent in the most impactful manner possible and to safeguard the sustainability of our economic progress,” the NEDA chief added.

With the theme “Boosting the Country’s Recovery with Informed Decisions, Better Policies,” this month marks the 33rd annual celebration of the National Statistics Month. Spearheaded by PSA, the event aims to promote, enhance, and instill awareness and appreciation of the importance of statistics across different sectors. The opening ceremony of the NSM coincides with the 15th National Convention on Statistics, which will be held from October 3 to 5, 2022.