By Dr. Rex Casiple
On September 20, 1990, former President Corazon C. Aquino issued Presidential Proclamation No. 647, “Declaring the Month of October of Every Year as the National Statistics Month”. The proclamation aims to promote, enhance, and instill nationwide awareness and appreciation of the importance and value of statistics to the different sectors of society; and to elicit the cooperation and support of the general public in upgrading the quality and standards of statistics in the country.
The theme of this year’s NSM Celebration is “Advancing Data and Statistics Through Digital Transformation: A Road to an Empowered Nation”. This highlights the efforts in modernizing the statistical system through the adoption of digital tools and platforms to improve the accuracy, timeliness and accessibility of statistics. It empowers decision- and policy-makers, and other stakeholders with valuable insights for informed decision-making and policy formulation which are geared towards national economic and social development. In connection with this celebration, various activities will be conducted by government agencies or group of government agencies and the local government units (LGUs) for the whole month of October 2024.
Some of the highlights of activities of this year’s observance of the 35th NSM are the Opening Ceremony on October 1, 2024 hosted by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT); Publicity, Promotion and Advocacy hosted by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA); Statistical Infomercial Contest hosted by the West Visayas State University (WVSU) on October 18, 2024; Statistical Infographics Contest hosted by the Philippine Statistical Association, Inc., Region VI Chapter (PSAI 6) on October 14-18, 2024; Photography Contest hosted by the University of San Agustin (USA) on October 14-18, 2024; Statistical Analysis Contest for College Students hosted by the Commission on Higher Education Regional Office VI (CHEDRO VI) on October 15, 2024; E-Poster Making Contest hosted by UP Visayas Statistical Society on October 13-18, 2024; StatisTiktok hosted by UP Visayas on October 13-18, 2024; Western Visayas Statistics Quiz hosted by National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) on October 17, 2024; Inter-High School Chess Competition hosted by NEDA on October 17, 2024; Tree Planting hosted by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); among others. The closing and awarding ceremonies for the contest winners will be hosted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas – Iloilo Branch on October 25, 2024.
The Statistical Analysis Contest for College Students has been hosted by the Commission on Higher Education Regional Office VI, in coordination with the Philippine Statistical Association, Inc. Region VI Chapter (PSAI 6) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The main purpose of the Contest is to create awareness among college students on the importance and relevance of Statistics in national development. The contest is open to public and private colleges and universities in the Region. Each participating school shall choose 3 students who are academically prepared in the field of statistics, mathematics and social sciences and appoint 1 adviser who shall provide the overall guidance in analyzing and interpreting statistical data. All participating schools must submit to CHED Regional Office complete names, course and year level of the school’s group contestants; the name of the adviser and his/her contact number, and the written endorsement duly signed by the school head/authority on or before October 11, 2024
Finally, for the reason of COVID-19, there may be some restrictions in doing face to face activities. Hence some activities will be done virtually. Some activities will be seen livestream and posted in the facebook page “National Statistics Month-Western Visayas”. The contest schedules, guidelines, entries and results are likewise posted in the same NSM Facebook page.