POPULATION CENSUS. An enumerator of the Philippine Statistics Authority in Negros Oriental gathers data from a household in Dumaguete City in this undated photo. Boundary conflicts have slowed data collection under the Population Census-Community-Based Monitoring System. (PNA file photo by Mary Judaline Flores Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY – Boundary conflicts, especially between villages and municipalities or cities, are slowing down the ongoing Population Census-Community-Based Monitoring System (PopCen-CBMS) of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in Negros Oriental, an official said on Tuesday.
Ariel Fortuito, chief statistical specialist of PSA-Negros Oriental, said field enumerators had to skip some households pending the resolution of conflicts.
“It is status quo for now in some areas until the boundary conflict has been resolved,” Fortuito said.
He said the PSA will continue the listing using its operational map once deadline is near and issues have not been resolved.
Fortuito noted that some officials are not fully updated about their geographical boundaries and would insist that constituents, voters and supporters they serve should be counted in their areas of jurisdiction.
Some people also have houses sitting on the boundary of adjacent villages, he added.
Under the CBMS, a census board chaired by the local chief executive and national agencies sitting as members will decide on specific issues, such as boundary conflicts.
If the census board is unable to resolve a boundary conflict, the PSA operational map will prevail and the enumeration will resume as the CBMS must be completed by the national government's deadline.
The PopCen-CBMS runs from July 15 to Sept. 16 and aims to update population statistics and the list of beneficiaries of the government’s social protection programs.
Fortuito said that the PSA has so far covered about 50 percent of the province’s estimated population of 1.3 million. (PNA)
