The annual National Statistics Month (NSM) celebration serves as a platform to promote the vital role of data and statistics in crafting sound decisions for national development, officials said Monday.
“We share the same goal in fostering public awareness and cooperation for a more reliable and responsive national statistical system,” said Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Regional Director for Western Visayas Nelida Amolar during a press conference marking the start of the 36th NSM celebration this October.
Arecio Casing Jr., Regional Director of the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) in Western Visayas, emphasized that their plans are anchored on evidence-based data, with PSA as one of their key sources.
“The use of statistical data is very important to us. Hence, this advocacy should be shared with all sectors of society, most especially the youth and our children,” Casing said.
He expressed excitement for the month-long activities, including student engagements and social media campaigns that highlight the value of data collection.
“What is the source of statistics? Essentially, it’s data. What we want really is to advocate data collection to be the source of our statistics,” he said, noting that local government units are also contributing through their Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS).
Casing also pointed out the growing role of Industry 5.0 and Artificial Intelligence (AI), which heavily rely on accurate data.
“Users should be wary and check the data that is being used. You have to make sure you trust the AI you are using,” he advised.
This year’s NSM celebration carries the theme, “Accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Pace of Progress: Mobilizing Data for All.”