Proposed consolidation of statistical units up for OK

The consolidation of all the country’s statistical agencies with the bill seeking to transform them into one entity called the Philippine Statistical Authority (PSA) is now up for President Aquino’s signing into law.

The agencies to be consolidated are the National Statistics Office (NSO), National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), Bureau of Animal Statistics (BAS), Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES), and Statistical Research and Training Center (SRTC).

The legislative measure seeking their consolidation got final and joint approval by the Senate and the House of Representatives last Thursday and has been brought to Malacañang for the President’s signature.

This was according to Lina Castro, assistant secretary general of the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), who said the President was expected to sign the bill into law any time soon.

“We (the statistical agencies) will soon have to draft the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the law,” Castro told the Inquirer.

Castro said the IRR would provide specific details on the implementation of the consolidation, which would affect about 3,200 employees.

She said the consolidation of the statistical agencies into the PSA might not necessarily require employees to leave, but it might call for changes in the functions of some.

In fact, the statistical agencies might even be in need of additional manpower as the existing number of personnel seemed inadequate to meet the needs for statistical services in the country.

Castro said the NSO has about 2,000 employees; NSCB, 49;  BAS,  1,000;  BLES, about 50, and the SRTC, about 30.

The consolidation is aimed at streamlining the operations of statistics agencies and ensuring a more effective delivery of services.

The National Economic and Development Authority, the head of all the statistical agencies, is supporting the move to consolidate these agencies.

The Neda said the consolidation would lead to the creation of a one-stop shop for all statistical requirements of the government and the private sector.

The bill on the consolidation of the statistical agencies has Sen. Francis Escudero as lead author in the Senate and Rep. Rufus Rodriguez as lead author in the House of Representatives.