PH Emphasizes Value of Statistics to Sustainable Development at United Nations Regional Meeting in Bangkok

Left photo:  Philippine Ambassador to Thailand Millicent Cruz Paredes (second from left) and Philippine Statistics Authority Undersecretary Claire Dennis S. Mapa (middle) with the Philippine delegation. Right photo: Undersecretary Mapa delivers the Philippine country statement. (Bangkok PE photo)

BANGKOK 08 September 2022 – The Philippines, led by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), emphasized the value of data and statistics to the sustainable development of a country at the eighth session of the Committee on Statistics of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) held in person and online at the United Nations Conference Center in Bangkok on 23-25 August 2022.

National Statistician and Civil Registrar General, Undersecretary Claire Dennis S. Mapa, with the support of Philippine Ambassador to Thailand and ESCAP Permanent Representative Millicent Cruz Paredes, led the Philippine delegation.

The Philippines shared its work in three key fields: tracking and monitoring the country’s progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG); advancing regional cooperation on disaster-related statistics; and modernizing civil registration systems.

The Philippines regularly releases its SDG Watch, which provides all available data for tracking the progress of the country. This data informs policy-making and the targeted delivery of government services to communities in need, including children, women, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and marginalized sectors.

The Philippines also shared how it is utilizing digital technology to streamline and modernize civil registration and notification processes, with a vision of establishing an efficient e-Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system for every Filipino. This includes an online payment scheme and quick turn-around time for birth, marriage, and death papers needed for various purposes such as employment, benefits claims, school enrollment, among others.

The Committee on Statistics meets biennially to discuss statistical developments in the Asia Pacific region, including progress in strengthening national statistical systems for the implementation of the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development, and regional initiatives to advance universal civil registration and vital statistics.

Early this year, the Philippines was again elected to serve in the Governing Council of the ESCAP Statistics Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP) from 2022 to 2025.

For more information on the eighth Session of the ESCAP Committee on Statistics, please visit the meeting’s webpage at:   https://www.unescap.org/events/2022/committee-statistics-eighth-session. END

For more information, visit https://www.bangkokpe.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinThailand/.