1
Administrator, National Statistics Office, Philippines.
Introduction
In 1990, the National Statistics Office (NSO)
adopted a purely microcomputer environment for
the data processing of its Census of Population
and Housing. This earned the Philippines the
distinction of being among the first middle-sized
country, with population of at least 65 million,
which was able to process its census using microcomputers.
Since then, the NSO has consistently used microcomputers
for wide-scale census processing.
Following up on its previous experiences, the
NSO continues to inject new ideas on decentralized
processing setup. It was also able to put up
the NSOnet, a nationwide data communication
infrastructure, in 1995 when the telecommunication
sector in the Philippines has not yet advanced.
Most of the innovations done were basically
brought by the advances in computer technology.
This paper presents an identification of some
areas by which the NSO can again inject "new
ways of doing things" in its undertaking of
the Census 2000 round. The basic rationale on
why the specific area of concern was selected
is also described. Likewise, an indication of
the required assistance is also given for each
area of concern.
GIS
for Census Operations and Dissemination
One very important aspect in the successful
conduct of censuses is the ability to monitor
and track the field operations phase. This involves
having information on the areas being enumerated
as well as a suitable form of presenting the
information to enable quick assessment of the
progress of the operations. In the 1995 Census
of Population, a Quick Count operation was devised
to provide information for tracking the progress
of the field operations. It also served to provide
an advanced set of population counts for evaluation
purposes. The NSO provincial offices sent the
quick count figures through the NSOnet data
communication infrastructure to their respective
regional offices twice a week. Since the figures
ultimately converge at the Central Office, the
scheme allowed for assessments to be made at
various levels of geographic disaggregations,
from the municipal to the national level. The
progress reports here presented mainly in tabular
form.
The 1995 Quick Count operation worked so well.
It provided the necessary i information for
management to assess the overall situation and
make decisions pertaining to resource allocation
and mobilization. But the tabular format by
which the information were presented makes it
difficult for management to quickly spot the
problem areas. It required some amount of effort
to go through the tables to identify which barangays
or municipalities are lagging behind in the
enumeration.
Maps containing shading or colors to indicate
the progress of each area would have been an
ideal way of conveying the necessary information.
At a glance, a I manager can quickly evaluate
the areas needing further attention. Although
manually done, such maps were used in enumeration
phase for the Metro Manila area, specifically
during the mopping-up period. The effectiveness
of maps was proven especially during the evaluation
meetings with the field officers. It became
easier to relate the progress of one locality
with the other areas.
With a Geographic Information System (GIS)
implementation, the map-based progress monitoring
and tracking would be much easier. It is easy
to choose the level of details needed for the
assessment. Likewise, the demographic evaluation
applied unto the 1995 census quick count figures
can also be incorporated as part of -the GIS
application.
GIS does not only apply to the progress monitoring
and tracking. Its usefulness extends up to the
dissemination of the census results. Regardless
of the mode of dissemination, whether paper-based
or in electronic format such as through the
world-wide web, GIS increases the use and impact
of census information to data users. It can
then be said that investments in GIS equipment
and software provide enormous benefits to the
NSO. It is a logical move, therefore, for census
organizations to embark on the development of
GIS applications.
The NSO proposes that the Philippines become
a pilot country for the development of GIS applications
for the Census 2000 round. Most of the necessary
prerequisites for adoption of GIS technology
are already existing at the NSO. The availability
of maps is crucial in a GIS undertaking and
the NSO is ready with it. The office embarked
on map digitization during the 1995 census and
continues to update these digitized map holdings
until today. Municipal and higher level maps
with bararigay (village) delineation are already
existing in digitized form. Most harangay level
maps are also ready although a few more areas
are still being worked on. For the required
staff support, the Census Mapping Section and
the Information Systems Development Section
of the NSO can be tapped to develop the GIS
applications. The data transmission infrastructure
as used in the 1995 Quick Count operations still
exists, now with improvements, for the required
information transfers between the field and
the central offices.
A preliminary assessment of the NSO indicates
that assistance would be needed in the acquisition
of GIS softwares as well as computer equipment
that will upplement existing units at the NSO.
In addition, technical training would be necessary.
To be consistent with its decentralization thrust
and to maximize the benefit from this technology,
the NSO also recommends that, as a minimum,
the implementation of the GIS applications be
done at the regional and central offices.
Statistical
Database Development
Developed countries maintain databases to
store their statistical data releases. With
these databases, they are able to provide on-line
data services through the Internet. In contrast
to the advanced countries, the bulk of the available
statistical information in the Philippines remains
unorganized, usually in separate data sets.
Time series information may not be easy to get
because of the need to compile the data points
from various data files or publications. Such
condition presents added burden to the statistical
organization and difficulty to the data users.
A trial on-line data service was done at the
NSO a few years ago. Such service has implemented
using a statistical database that resided at
the mainframe computer. However, after several
months of trial operation, the service was discontinued
because of feedbacks from users. Trial subscribers
complained of lack of user-friendliness of the
software as well as slow access brought by low
speed data communication. Being mainframe-based,
a round-the-clock data service required a high
operating cost mainly from air-conditioning
requirements.
Owing to the advances in computer technology,
there is again a renewed interest to maintain
statistical databases at the NSO. Microcomputers
are now able to provide a platform by which
databases can be hosted. They are not only much
less costly, they can also be interfaced more
easily with the current dissemination medium-the
web. With worldwide dissemination through the
Internet, the pressure for the NSO to maintain
statistical databases becomes greater.
The NSO welcomes any move for having the Philippines
as a pilot country for the development of a
statistical database. The database can be used
for GIS-based as well as webbased dissemination.
The NSO maintains a wide range of statistical
information, including census results, and can
be a good candidate to test the implementation
of database strategies. The feasibility of adopting
geographically distributed databases can also
be piloted. This involves a distributed approach
to building up the contents of the statistical
databases and providing a way by which data
users, depending on their needs, can have access
to any of these databases.
Computer
Telephony Services
During the last two years, the Philippines
experienced an expansion of the telecommunications
sector. The national telephone density
has then increased and remains to improve.
Telephones are now available in most parts of
the country. This development indicates
the possibility of an increased demand for information.
It may be noted that there has already been
a significant increase in Internet Service Providers
across the country. It is then likely that the
use of fax machines in ordinarybusinesses will
also increase.
The NSO wishes to pilot a fax-on-demand data
service. The scheme allows a user with
a fax machine to call the NSO and be able to
get copies of available statistical releases
without any manual intervention. Interactive
voice prompts programmed at the server computer
will guide the caller on possible choices he
can make. The user indicates his choice
by pressing dialing buttons on the telephone's
key pad.
The data service can provide press releases
with accompanying tables, regular data bulletins,
area and population profiles, and other low
volume materials. It may also cover materials
already in the NSO website. Mention can also
be made that despite the availability of the
NSO website, the NSO has been receiving requests
even from abroad for fax copies of data releases.
Because of the long distance charges, the NSO
gets drained of its budget to support foreign
data users. The foreign subscriber's willingness
to defray the transmission charges does not
help the office because the revenue will not
actually go to the NSO. Instead it goes to the
national treasury. The fax-on-demand scheme,
therefore, passes on the cost of the actual
transmission to the data user because it is
the user who initiates the call.
Since this fax-on-demand service will be implemented
using a server computer, it is possible to have
it configured for other uses such as a fax server
and for fax broadcasting. It may be noted that
the NSO regularly sends its press releases to
about 400 recipients via fax transmission.
Conclusion
IT remains the primary technological source
in making improvements in the activities of
national statistical organizations. The affordability
of powerful computers and the availability of
softwares for a wide range of applications have
allowed developing countries to adopt new strategies
and offer new services. These areas include
decentralization, electronic dissemination,
databases and many others. With proper direction,
the application of IT in the statistical undertakings
of developing countries may bring the gap between
the advanced and the developing countries a
little closer.
