THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the City Planning and Development Office jointly urged Dabawenyos to take part in the ongoing 2024 Census of Population, which is being conducted alongside a Community-Based Monitoring System targeted to be completed by September 2024.
PSA Officer-In charge for PSA Provincial Statistical Office Adeline Batucan, during the I-Speak media forum, said that since the start of the census last July, they are still at 30 percent in terms of accomplishment, which is below the expected target of 50 percent.
"Right now we are fast tracking, may mga problems tayo na ma-encounter which is usually ang pag back-out sa mga enumerator but we are making strategies on the on how this will be filled up so nag hire napud mi or nagkuha napud mig lain mga personnel just to fill the gap.. so far we are trying na makaapas gyud ta (Right now we are fast tracking, we have encountered problems, such as the backing-out of the enumerators but we are making strategies on how this will be filled up, so we hired new personnel to fill the gap.. so far we are trying to hit the target),” Batucan said.
PSA, in partnership with the CPDO, is also coordinating with the homeowners associations to address the challenge faced by enumerators in interviewing residents living in high-end subdivisions and condominiums in the city.
“We are always monitoring the operation kasi by the end of this year dapat naa ta'y population count nga ma-release (We are always monitoring the operations because by the end of the year we are expected to release the population count),” Batucan said.
CPDO City Statistician Designate for CBMS Edwin G. Bacalso Jr., who was also present in the same media forum, underscored the importance of the Community Based Monitoring System (CBMS).
“Kaning system maoy mag-update sa social registry sa tibuok siyudad which is magamit siya sa atong national registries labi na sa lokal nga panggamhanan nga ma-update pud kinsa ang vulnerable sectors na pwede hatagan og interventions (This system will help in updating the social registry of the city, which can be used by the national registries and the local government and will help in updating data on vulnerable sectors that can be given interventions),” Bacalso said.
Batucan urged the public to support the project by receiving and answering the questions of the enumerators. Answering the questions will take 30-40 minutes. The enumerators are also trained and have well coordinated with the barangays.
Bacalso added that each of the enumerators wears IDs and they have tablets to input the data gathered.
“Amoa lang gyud ginahangyo sa public is ang matinud-anon nga tubag, be truthful lang sa answers nila para maka-come up ta ug mas gwapo na resulta sa data nato (What we are asking the public is, to be honest, and truthful in the answers, that way we will able to come up with good data),” Bacalso said.
“Atong i-entertain or i-cater ang enumerator kung naa ta’y binuhi nga hayop mga iro dili pud nato buhian kay usually mao gyud siya ang previous nga encounter sa population census, abi nilang lending company or mga scams. Kani nga proyekto legit ni siya in partnership with the city government of Davao together with the PSA (We should entertain and cater to our enumerators and if we have dogs, they should be tied and not let loose, it has been the experience of enumerators, they were believed to be agents of lending company or scams. This project [Census and CBMS] is a legitimate partnership with the City Government together with the PSA,” Bacalso said. CIO