‘All systems go' for CPH 2020 - PSA

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Aug. 27 (PIA) -- It is all systems go for the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and their 1,172 enumerators who would be knocking on Boholano houses to extract data for the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (CPH) amid the corona virus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

PSA has also prepared measures for the safety of its enumerators and field supervisors who could be treading in high-risk areas where COVID-19 transmission is noted.

“We are on this September, but the reference period would be from May 1, 2020,” Bohol Statistician Jessamyn Anne Alcazaren bared in an interview. 

Supposedly set for May but was moved due to the national public health emergency, the 2020 CPH is a nationwide government undertaking that involves the collection, compilation, evaluation, analysis, publication, and dissemination of data on population count, demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population, housing characteristics, household characteristics, and barangay characteristics in each barangay, city or municipality, province and region in the country.

The census also aims to provide government executives, policy makers, and planners with population and housing data on which to base their social and economic development plans, policies and programs.

With the first Philippine census conducted in 1903, the 2020 CPH would be the 15th census of population and 7th census of housing in the Philippines.

Set in troubled times when the country is in a medical health crisis, Alcazaren assured that the census enumerators, team supervisors, census area supervisors and their assistants would be properly equipped for the risk that they would have to be face-to-face with respondents.

"We are giving them face masks, face shields, alcohol disinfectants, umbrellas and bags for their questionaires even as we have instructed them to keep their social distance while gathering the data needed in the survey," she said. 

She, however, said there might be times when the one-meter distance would not be followed, like when respondents have hearing issues.

But the enumerators have been briefed on their tasks, the provincial statistician explained. 

This, too, as PSA Bohol is set to complete within the week the last batch of training set for enumerators of the 48 towns and one city in Bohol. 

Each household respondent would have an average of 15-30 minutes of face-to-face time with the enumerators and with that, census takers are deemed to cover all the houses in their assigned areas.

"We are looking at 250,000 households in Bohol," Alcazaren bared, considering that the census would also include housing.

"Truthful and complete answers to the statistical questions," Alcazaren appealed to respondents, stressing that “garbage in would also result in garbage out.”

All the responses form the basis for the policies which the government may create for segments of the population like infants, children, youth, elderly, women or reproductive age, voting ages and working productive ages.

These would also form the basis on policies and programs relative to basic service delivery, health, education, employment, housing, infrastructure, disaster relief and other concerns, according to PSA.

The census on population has also been the basis for allocation of revenues and resources, creation of political or administrative units or the mulled Bohol’s redistricting move.

For businesses, the number of people in an area guides businesses where to set up shops, which goods to put up, and still several other development concerns.

Census also provide popular data for population growth studies and geographic distribution for population projections. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

250,000 HOUSEHOLDS IN SEPTEMBER. Bohol statistician Jessamyne Anne Alcazaren said there may be some towns that could start late but they plan to start the census by Sept. 1, 2020. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)