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Reference Number :
2018-194

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) successfully conducted the 1st Philippine Data Festival (PH Data Fest) last 15-16 November 2018 at The Peninsula Manila, with the theme “Bringing Statistics Closer to the People”.

In her welcome remarks, Undersecretary Lisa Grace S. Bersales, the National Statistician and Civil Registrar General of PSA said that young Pinoys and Pinays are instrumental in better communicating official statistics to the general public. She also said that statistics is a field that is both crucial to nation-building and fun to explore as it allows for better understanding of the world. She highlighted that the 1st PH Data Fest exemplifies the commitment of the PSA to foster partnerships with the youth and the academe in instilling appreciation and enhancing statistical literacy in the country on official statistics.

A total of 324 participants from various state universities and colleges, schools, national government agencies, private organizations and media participated in the two-day event.

The event featured three (3) plenary sessions. The first plenary session involved presentations about the Philippine Statistical System and the PSA by Ms. Gina A. Perido and Ms. Lotis I. Ira of the PSA. A Meet-and-Greet session with the PSA National Statistician followed. Meanwhile, Mr. Jonathan Rudolph Y. Ragsag of the National Privacy Commission talked about balancing rights to data privacy with the right to access government information/freedom of information. Ms. Lala Rimando, a freelance business journalist discussed the need for reliable official statistics in this digital era to advocate for statistical literacy and to enable the public to distinguish real data from “fake news”.

The second plenary session had presentations about the: (1) “Sustainable Development Goals: Where Are We Now?” by Assistant National Statistician (ANS) Wilma A. Guillen of the PSA; (2) “Searching for Somebody to Love: Using 2015 Census of Population in Finding Singles in the Philippines” by ANS Minerva Eloisa P. Esquivias; and (3) “Sexual Health and Teenage Pregnancy Statistics (Paglalakbay sa Pagiging Isang Ina)” by Ms. Plenee Grace J. Castillo of the PSA, which used the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey.

Meanwhile, during the third plenary session, interesting vital statistics were presented by Ms. Aurora T. Reolalas of the PSA, while the Enhanced OpenSTAT Portal was launched and discussed by Ms. Simonette A. Nisperos of the PSA. The PSA’s OpenSTAT Portal (http://openstat.psa.gov.ph/) contains datasets on various statistical subject matters with corresponding metadata for the public to use for free.

Breakout sessions were likewise held on the following topics:

  • What You Need to Know About Civil Registration and the Philippine Identification System?

  • Statistics and Facts on Youth

  • Success in Statistics: Position Yourself for the Future

  • Economic Statistics 101 for Juan and Juana

  • Social Statistics 101 for Juan and Juana

  • How Open are Philippine Data?

  • Integrating Statistics and Geospatial Information

  • The Future of Big Data in the Philippines

  • The Philippines and the ASEAN in Figures

The PH Data Fest also featured games and contest such as Stats and Ladders, Stat Genius, Data Storytelling and Data Cartooning. The following emerged as 1st place winners of the different games and contests.

  Stats and Ladders:Darren M. Falamig   
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
  Stat Genius:Oliver L. Talavera and Desserie D. De Castro   
Southern Luzon State University
  Data Storytelling:Arianne Camielle DR Caritos   
University of the Philippines – Los Baños
  Data Cartooning:Alvin R. Cendaña   
Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University

A Statistics Museum was also showcased which contained collection of old statistical publications and equipment used in data collection, processing and communication. The PSA organized a mobile helpdesk on civil registration concerns. Exhibitors in the event included Geodata Technologies, Inc., The Manila Collectible Co. and Globe Telecom.

The event concluded with the awarding of medals and certificates to contest and game winners and the showing of the culminating video of the 1st PH Data Fest.

All presentations on the festival, videos and photographs are posted on the 1st PH Data Fest webpage at http://www.psa.gov.ph/datafestival/.

 


LISA GRACE S. BERSALES, Ph.D.   
Undersecretary   
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General

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