Pursuant to the PSA Memorandum Circular No. 2018-01 “Celebration of the 29^th National Statistics Month (NSM) in October 2018” dated 10 July 2018 and signed by Ernesto M. Pernia, Ph.D., Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and Chairperson of the PSA Board, do hereby enjoined all agencies of the government, local government units, academic institutions, state universities and colleges, and the private sector at the national and subnational levels to actively participate in and support the celebration of the 29^th NSM in October 2018.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)- RSSO 7 partnered with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED 7) in the conduct on the spot kwentong stats writing contest, poster making contest and digital short film making to Higher Education Institution (HEI) college students both the public and private schools in Region 7 conducted in the afternoon of 5 October 2018. The contest takes into cognizant the year’s NSM theme “Exploring Philippine Wonders in Numbers: Statistics Towards Sustainable Tourism Development.”

A total of twelve (12) entries for all categories were received by the organizing committee. The schools who participated in the contest were Golden Success College (GSC), Mandaue City, Cebu; University of the Visayas (UV), Mandaue and Cebu City campuses; Cebu Eastern College (CEC), Cebu City; Cebu Technological University (CTU), Main Campus, Cebu City; Bohol Island State University, Main Campus, Bohol; and Mandaue City College (MCC), Cebu. The contest was conducted on 5 October 2018 at SM City North food court where the public was able to witness the entire activity. The contest guidelines and the criteria for judging was based from CHED office memorandum circular signed by J.Prospero E. De Vera III, DPA, Officer-in-Charge of CHED.

The objective of the contest was aimed to promote and instill awareness among college students and eventually can appreciate the importance and value of statistics. Since the activity was conducted in a public place or venue where the public can also see for themselves, thus this will also elicit the cooperation and support of the general public by upgrading the quality and standards of statistics in the country.

The programme started with the Invocation and the singing of the National Anthem with the rendition from the Cebu Technological University Choir. The participants were welcome and acknowledged by Dr. Carlyn Delapeña, Education Supervisor, CHED 7 followed by an Inspirational message by Engr. Ariel Florendo, Regional Director, PSA 7. He emphasized the importance of statistics in evidence-based decision making and the objective of conducting the activity. He was overwhelmed to know that the activity was done at the mall where the public can also see for themselves the activity and to eventually appreciate the value and importance of statistics in improving the lives of the Filipino people. He was thankful partnering with CHED 7 wherein it was the first time that such event was conducted in the mall.

Ms. Renelyn Enriquez, a representative from the Department of Tourism (DOT 7) gave a message about the contribution of the tourism industry in the country as this was in line with the NSM theme . She said that based from the Philippine Tourism Satellite Account (PTSA) compiled by the PSA shows that the tourism industry contributed 12.2 percent to the Philippine economy in 2017 which is 24.2 percent higher than that of the previous year, and that there were 5.3 million people employed in this industry for the same year.

A five man member composed the board of judges for the contest:

Chair:  Engr. Leopoldo P. Alfanta, Jr., PSA 7

Members:        Dr. Michael Mallari, CHED 7

Ms. Aurelia M. Canda, PSA Siquijor

Ms. Renelyn Enriquez, DOT

Dr. Carlyn M. Delapeña, CHED 7

The list of winners for the three categories of competition the Poster Making Contest, Kwentong Stats writing contest and Digital Shorts film making were as follows:

The contest ended with the closing message by Engr. Leopoldo P. Alfanta, Jr. who was very thankful for all the people behind the success of the contest where the objectives of the activity really met and it was also an accomplishment for both the organizers and the participating schools in promoting awareness among college students the importance of statistics in their daily lives.