EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 352 July 1, 1996

DESIGNATION OF STATISTICAL ACTIVITIES THAT WILL GENERATE CRITICAL DATA FOR DECISION-MAKING OF THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 121, which was issued in January 1987, created the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) as the policy-making and coordinating body of the decentralized Philippine Statistical System;

WHEREAS, the NSCB, now an agency attached to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), has established a system of designated statistics in accordance with its mandate, that enables the identification and generation of the most critical and essential statistics required for social and economic planning/analysis based on approved criteria;

WHEREAS, the generation of said data requires the conduct of nationwide census and surveys and the maintenance/processing of administrative based records on a regular basis to allow for monitoring time series analysis and forecasting by policy-makers;

WHEREAS, the quality of these designated statistics needs to be continuously improved to address the needs of data users;

WHEREAS, the system of designated statistics is a dynamic process that allows for updating to keep attuned to the emerging demands of data users;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. The activities and statistics that have been designated by the NSCB, as Annexed to this Executive Order, shall be adopted by the government as the means of generating the critical and essential data for administrators, planners and policy makers in the government and private sectors.

SECTION 2. The implementing agencies shall provide the Office of the President, thru the NSCB the results of said censuses, surveys and administrative based reports on a regular basis and ensure the dissemination of the data to the general public in accordance with the designated time frame.

SECTION 3. The implementing agencies shall be responsible in carrying out the improvements in the design for generating designated statistics in accordance with their respective mandate.

SECTION 4. Any modification, addition or deletion from the above list shall be approved through a Board Resolution by the NSCB in accordance with its implementing guidelines. The NSCB is authorized to issue implementing guidelines consistent with the provisions of this Executive Order. It shall also be responsible for monitoring the system's implementation to attain the objectives of this Executive Order.

SECTION 5. The NSCB shall regularly conduct adequate consultation with the data users and producers as a means of updating the lists of designated statistics to be responsive to the emerging needs of data users.

SECTION 6. The amounts necessary to carry out the provisions of this Executive Order shall be provided for in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) in the year following its approval and thereafter. However, immediate requirements to implement this Executive Order shall be taken from any available appropriations in the CY 1996 GAA, subject to the usual budgetary rules and regulations.

SECTION 7. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 1st day of July in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Six.

(Sgd.) RUBEN D. TORRES

Executive Secretary