August 2007 is National Census Month as declared by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo under Proclamation No. 1346. The 2007 Census of Population (POPCEN 2007) began last August 1 and is being undertaken by the National Statistics Office (NSO) under Administrator Carmelita N. Ericta. The country’s estimated population (as projected) stands at 88 million at present.
POPCEN 2007 aims to make a complete count of all residents, both Filipinos and foreigners who have stayed in the country for at least a year. It also hopes to collect basic information about the number of people residing within a house, their age, gender, civil status, education, and other demographic and socio-economic characteristics.
More than 10 million people live in Metro Manila alone. This means 10% of the total population live in the metropolis. We can just imagine the congestion of people and establishments in an area of 636 square kilometers, where the density rate is 15,700 people per square kilometer. Population grows as more people move from the rural to urban areas in search of economic opportunities and of course due to a natural increase in number of births. This rapid urbanization leads to the lack and deterioration of existing resources, which includes the lack of clean drinking water, water shortage, sanitation and garbage problems, air and noise pollution, to name a few.
In Metro Manila, there are extremely rich and extremely poor people. Posh subdivisions are side by side with slum areas. It is stated that 97% of the total GDP in the country is controlled by only 15% of the total population, majority of which reside in the metropolis.
The overarching goal in taking the census must be to determine the economic well being of its people based on the existing quantity and quality of the country’s resources and available services. One way of redistributing resources equitably is adopting a taxation scheme wherein the government taxes the wealthier sectors more as one source of funding more services and assistance to the more disadvantaged sectors. Moreover, the data to be gathered must be an accurate representation of target beneficiary sectors that local government units must rely on to ensure the delivery of sufficient basic services for all.
Everyone must also cooperate with the census takers in coming up with updated and reliable information. Former Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning and Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Romulo Neri was right when he enjoined all citizens to participate actively in the census because this way, we help our nation understand itself and what it has achieved, and what it must do.
A country’s greatest asset is its people. They can only contribute well if they are happy and satisfied. It must know its people well because they chart its future as a nation in a highly globalized economy.