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Hosted by the Department of Tourism (DOT), the 29th National Statistics Month (NSM) kicked off with the Opening Ceremony on 02 October 2018 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City. The very festive event underscored the impact of new tourism innovations on sustainable tourism development. The Opening Ceremony was highlighted by messages delivered by officials from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the DOT.

Undersecretary and National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Lisa Grace S. Bersales of the PSA, in her Opening Remarks, stated that even while the tourism sector is already gearing towards sustained tourism growth through advance digital technology, we must still bear in mind the environmental pillar of sustainability, in addition to the economic and social pillars.

In the Inspirational Message delivered by Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon of the NEDA, she emphasized that continuous collaboration is needed for an empowered Philippine Statistical System (PSS). She also presented statistics on the tourism sector that are relevant in tourism development planning.

Moreover, the importance of information and statistics in policymaking was highlighted by Undersecretary Benito C. Bengzon, Jr. of the DOT in his Keynote Message. He underscored that numbers will just be empty figures if they do not produce jobs/opportunities to make lives better.

In addition to the delivery of messages from the PSA, NEDA, and DOT, one of the highlights of the Opening Ceremony was the announcement of winners of the 8th NSM Media Awards. The NSM Media Awards recognizes television and radio programs and reporters from print or online news service who have made significant contributions in promoting and popularizing statistical information.

The winners of the 8th NSM Media Awards are as follows:

  • Statistical Media Award – Print Category:
    • Mr. Jasper Y. Arcalas of Business Mirror
       
  • Statistical Media Award – Online Category:
    • Ms. Pauline Macaraeg of Entrepreneur Philippines
       
  • Statistical Media Award – Television and/or Radio Category:
    • Mr. Michael Joe T. Delizo of ABS-CBN
       
  • Data Champion:
    • Business Mirror

The “3rd PSA Says,” a game patterned after the “Family Feud” quiz show with questions from PSA survey/census results, was held right after the Opening Ceremony. The team comprising of officials/staff from DOT and University of the Philippines Institute of Statistics (UPLB INSTAT) won 1st Place.

Organized by the PSS and spearheaded by the PSA, the 29th NSM has for its theme “Exploring Philippine Wonders in Numbers: Statistics Towards Sustainable Tourism Development” which highlights the relevance of statistics in achieving a sustainable and progressive tourism growth for the country.

Pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 647, "Declaring the Month of October of Every Year as the National Statistics Month,” the annual NSM aims to: (a) promote, enhance, and instill awareness and appreciation of the importance and value of statistics to the different sectors of the society; and (b) elicit the cooperation and support of the general public in upgrading the quality and standards of statistics in the country.

In this month-long celebration, the PSS invites all government agencies, local government units, academic institutions, state universities and colleges, private sector, and the media at the national and local levels to actively participate in and support the 29th NSM activities.

FOR THE NATIONAL STATISTICIAN:

JOSIE B. PEREZ
Assistant Secretary
(Deputy National Statistician)
Officer-in-Charge

 

See more at the 29th National Statistics Month (NSM) page.