President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared July 2024 as “National Census and Community-based Monitoring System Month.”

This is in support for the conduct of the 2024 census of population and CBMS (POPCEN-CBMS) from July to September 2024.

In the two-page Proclamation No. 627 signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on July 9, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), through the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), is directed to lead, coordinate, and supervise the observance.

All agencies and instrumentalities of the national government, including government-owned or -controlled corporations and state universities and colleges, are directed to observe the celebration.

All local government units, non-government organizations, professional associations, and the private sector, are also “encouraged to render the necessary support and assistance to NEDA and PSA, and to actively participate in the observance of the National Census and CBMS Month.”

“All citizens and residents of the Philippines are encouraged to cooperate with the PSA and its census enumerators in the conduct of the 2024 POPCEN-CBMS, by providing truthful and complete information in response to census questions, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations,” the proclamation read.

Executive Order (EO) No. 352 (s. 1996) requires the conduct of the nationwide censuses and surveys and the maintenance/processing of administrative-based records on a regular basis. These include the POPCEN every 10 years, and the mid-decade POPCEN every five years.

The POPCEN-CBMS is a nationwide government undertaking that involves the collection, compilation, evaluation, analysis, publication, and dissemination of data on population count, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the population, housing statistics, and other relevant data from the barangay level up to the regional scope. Presidential News Desk