The Guimaras Provincial Statistical Office promoted the flagship projects and services of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) during the Government Services Manggahan Expo 2023 Learning Session/Forum conducted on May 5, 2023 at the Guimaras Provincial Capitol Grounds “The results of the 2021 Provincial Product Accounts (PPA) of Guimaras, Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), Census of Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF), and Price Statistics were the topics during the learning session attended by national government agencies (NGAs), investors, stakeholders, resort operators, and Guimaras Provincial Offices (GPO),” Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said.
Losare said that based on the 2021 Economic Performance of Guimaras discussed by PPA Statistical Analyst Lee Ariane Nicole G. Tejada, the economy of Guimaras grew by 7.7%, the fastest among the six provinces of Western Visayas region.
“Tejada presented the economic performance by sector emphasizing the major drivers of the 7.7% growth of the province as well as the industries that need improvement,” Losare said.
“Tejada also took the opportunity to thank the provincial government, stakeholders, and data sources for their support by providing the data necessary for the PPA compilation,” Losare added.
Losare also discussed the Price Statistics featuring “Inflation Trends: A Glimpse of Guimaras’ Cost of Living.”
The inflation trend of the province for March (2022-2023), the top three heavily weighted commodities and drivers of March 2023 inflation, including the comparative data on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Inflation rate per commodity group, Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP), and the inflation rates by province, were discussed.
Likewise, PSO Losare presented the five-key elements in the generation of the CPI, the methodology in the computation of the Inflation rate, the purchasing power of the peso, and the importance of CPI, for audience appreciation of the data generated by the PSA.
PhilSys updates were delivered by PSA Guimaras PhilSys Focal Person, Japeth Reel L. Gamarcha, to raise awareness about the status of PhilSys registration, distribution of ePhilIDs/PhilIDs, and the PSA’s partner agencies for the implementation of the project.
Trivia were also given after each discussion with corresponding tokens to encourage audience engagement.
“Gamarcha informed everyone that as of April 14, 2023, a total of 42,268 physical IDs had already been delivered by the Philpost, while 102,129 ePhilIDs were distributed by PSAGuimaras as of April 30, 2023,“ Losare said.
Losare added that as a large-scale government undertaking, the Census of Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF) AVP was played during the session for wider dissemination and to elicit the support of the general public.
The 2022 CAF Census will provide government planners, policymakers, and administrators with agriculture and fisheries data as a basis for social and economic development plans, policies, and programs, Losare said.
Losare explained that the learning session 2023 expo is one of the main activities of the Guimaras Manggahan Festival, which started on April 29 until May 22, 2023.
“It is an avenue for farmers, fisherfolks, entrepreneurs, buyers, LGUs, and various government agencies to interact and showcase their respective products and services, and also a chance for NGAs to disseminate their data,” Losare said.
“On behalf of PSA Guimaras, I would like to express my gratitude to all for your precious time and unwavering support in the Learning Session and all survey operations of the PSA, especially the upcoming CAF survey,” she added.
