NSCB Resolution No. 5
Series of 1991

INSTITUTIONALIZING THE GENERATION OF STATISTICS ON FILIPINO NATIONALS ABROAD

WHEREAS, in the celebration of the Philippine National Statistics Month last October 1990, President Corazon C. Aquino raised the problem of disparity in the data provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on the number and whereabouts of Filipino Overseas Contract Workers (OCWs) in the Gulf Region;

WHEREAS, the conflicting figures on OCWs hampered the early formulation of a contingency plan for the evacuations of Filipino OCWs in the war-affected regions;

WHEREAS, the remittances of Filipino nationals have greatly shored up the country’s foreign exchange reserves, particularly in times of declining export receipts and their employment abroad helped ease the country’s unemployment problem;

WHEREAS, the Department of Foreign Affairs issues from time to time foreign service circulars to its embassies and consulates abroad which inquire about the number of Filipino nationals in their country of jurisdiction;

WHEREAS, the Department of Labor and Employment similarly requires periodic reports from its Labor Attaches statistics on the number of Filipino OCWs within their areas of jurisdiction;

WHEREAS, the Department of Labor and Employment, through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), is currently developing a computer-based OCW data bank and ID system to service their operational needs and achieve a complete and accurate accounting of Filipino OCWs on a country specific basis;

WHEREAS, the Department of Justice (DOJ), through the Commission on Immigration and Deportation, has a mechanism to monitor the volume of departures and arrivals of Filipino nationals by their country of destination or origin;

WHEREAS, the Central Bank of the Philippines (CBP), through the Department of Economic Research-International and the Foreign Exchange Regulations Department, monitors the foreign exchange remittances of OCWs through the banking system for the computation of non-trade external transactions and the balance of payments;

WHEREAS, the welfare and interests of Filipino nationals are foremost concerns of the government and accurate and timely statistics on their number and working status are indispensable in the formulation of plans and programs for their protection;

WHEREAS, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) has the responsibility to promote and maintain an efficient statistical system in the government as well as to allocate statistical responsibilities among government agencies;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, that a more systematic collection of data on Filipino nationals abroad be undertaken by the DFA, DOJ, DOLE, CBP and NSCB under the following terms and conditions:

ARTICLE I. DEFINITION OF TERMS

1. Filipino Nationals -- refers to Filipino citizens, including their dependents who are abroad, whether they possess legal or illegal status.

2. Filipino Overseas Contract Workers -- refers to Filipino workers outside the Philippines, including those employed on board vessels plying international waters covered by a valid employment contract.

ARTICLE II. DELINEATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES

1. The DFA shall be responsible for the generation of annual benchmark estimates or current stock of Filipino nationals by country of destination, sex, and where relevant, by region (e.g., Eastern Saudi Arabia, Central Saudi Arabia, Western Saudi Arabia and others) and status (overseas contract workers, OCWs dependents, immigrants, overstaying/illegal Filipinos) and whenever possible, data on Filipino workers by occupation and wage level;

2. The DOJ shall be responsible for the quarterly estimates of the volume of turnover of departures and arrivals of Filipino nationals by country of destination or origin and sex which can be derived from arrival and departure cards issued by the CID at every point of entry/exit;

3. The DOLE shall be responsible for the monthly provisions of statistics on the number of Filipino OCWs by sex, occupation, country of destination, wage and other data which can be generated from OCW data bank and ID system as well as the projected foreign exchange remittances from processed OCW contracts;

4. The CBP shall be responsible for the monthly monitoring/gathering of statistics on the foreign exchange remittances of OCWs through the banking system by country of destination; and

5. The NSCB shall coordinate with all the concerned agencies to ensure the timely generation of the abovecited data and render technical assistance, if necessary.

Approved this 31st day of July 1991.