Community-Based Monitoring System Act

Case Overview and Summary

Summary of Republic Act No. 11315 (Community-Based Monitoring System Act)

Title and Policy Declaration
- The Act shall be known as the "Community-Based Monitoring System Act". (Section 1)
- It declares the policy of the State to free people from poverty through adequate social services, rising standard of living, full employment, and improved quality of life. (Section 2)
- It recognizes the need for focused measures to ensure poverty reduction, access to social protection and welfare programs, and a system of public spending that targets the most needy. (Section 2)
- It aims to adopt a community-based monitoring system that generates updated and disaggregated data for targeting beneficiaries, poverty analysis, policy design, and impact monitoring, while respecting privacy and data protection principles. (Section 2)

Definition of Terms
- Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) refers to a technology-based system of collecting, processing, and validating disaggregated data for planning, program implementation, and impact monitoring at the local level, involving data collection by LGUs with community participation. (Section 3(a))
- Geo-tagging refers to adding metadata about government projects to media and uploading it to a web-based application for mapping and progress monitoring. (Section 3(b))
- Data refers to the localized information on different dimensions of poverty generated by the CBMS. (Section 3(c))
- Repository refers to the agency tasked with receiving, storing, and managing socioeconomic data. (Section 3(d))
- Respondent refers to any citizen who participates as a data-source in the CBMS surveys. (Section 3(e))

Data Collection
- A CBMS is established in every city and municipality as a tool for formulating and implementing poverty alleviation and development programs. (Section 4)
- Each city and municipality is the primary data collecting authority within its locality, with a statistician responsible for data collection, preservation, and safekeeping. (Section 4)
- The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) shall create additional positions for statisticians at the provincial level to monitor and manage enumeration activities of LGUs. (Section 4)

Periodicity of Data Collection
- Regular and synchronized data collection shall be conducted by every city and municipality every three (3) years, with financial and technical assistance from national government agencies. (Section 5)
- Cities and municipalities are encouraged to collect data at shorter intervals and at their own expense for their own purposes. (Section 5)
- The implementing rules and regulations may provide for a separate period for data collection depending on the needs of national government agencies whose data-collecting functions have been consolidated with the CBMS. (Section 5)

Lead Agency
- The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) shall serve as the lead agency in the implementation of the CBMS, with the following functions: (Section 6)
- Set standards, develop and review data collection forms based on existing CBMS forms used by LGUs. (Section 6(a))
- Capacitate the cities and municipalities in the collection of poverty data at the local level through the Philippine Statistical Research and Training Institute, in collaboration with state universities and colleges and in coordination with other government agencies. (Section 6(b))
- Conduct cross-posting as follow-up capacity building of the cities and municipalities. (Section 6(c))
- Monitor the data collection by cities and municipalities to ensure adherence to official concepts, definitions, and standards of poverty statistics. (Section 6(d))
- Act as the national repository of all poverty data collected by the cities and municipalities. (Section 6(e))
- Process the poverty data generated and submitted by the cities and municipalities. (Section 6(f))
- Generate poverty statistics at higher levels that will complement and supplement the local level data. (Section 6(g))
- Perform other functions necessary or incidental to the proper implementation of this Act. (Section 6(h))

Information Dissemination
- The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is tasked to develop institutional arrangements on data-sharing. (Section 7)
- The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is tasked to regularly disseminate information relating to activities of the CBMS. (Section 7)
- The National Statistician of the PSA is tasked to submit an annual accomplishment report to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives containing collective poverty statistics generated by the CBMS, while keeping identities of respondents, cities and municipalities confidential. (Section 7)

Storage and Access of Data
- Cities and municipalities are allowed to maintain their own CBMS database for use in local level planning and program implementation. (Section 8)
- The PSA shall receive and store all aggregated data gathered by the cities and municipalities to create a national CBMS databank, and undertake measures to ensure the integrity and safety of the gathered information. (Section 8)
- Provinces shall have access to their respective local and territory-specific data. (Section 8)

Prioritizing Social Protection Programs
- The appropriate national government agencies shall use the data generated by the CBMS in prioritizing timely, relevant and much-needed social protection programs of government in areas identified to have the highest incidence of poverty. (Section 9)

Confidentiality of Information
- The right to privacy of every respondent remains inviolable. (Section 10)
- Respondents shall be fully informed of the nature and extent of processing intended for their personal data, and participation in data collection activities is purely voluntary. (Section 10)
- Respondents may refuse to answer any question or reveal any information at any point, or terminate data collection activities with no further action needed. (Section 10)
- Respondents may make an explicit waiver to authorize the city and municipality to disclose their identity and other relevant information about their household to the government agency which provides social protection programs for them. (Section 10)

Prioritization of Assistance
- The income class of cities and municipalities shall be considered in prioritizing the allocation of financial assistance to implement the provisions of this Act. (Section 11)
- Fourth, fifth and sixth class cities and municipalities shall be given assistance in the first three (3) years of implementation of this Act, and thereafter, other cities and municipalities shall progressively be given assistance. (Section 11)

Joint Congressional Oversight Committee
- A Congressional Oversight Committee (CBMS Oversight Committee) is constituted to set the overall framework to review the implementation of this Act, determine inherent weaknesses, and recommend necessary remedial legislation or executive measures. (Section 12)
- The Committee shall be composed of fourteen (14) members, with the Chairpersons of the Committee on Poverty Alleviation of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development of the Senate as Co-chairpersons, and six (6) members from each House. (Section 12)
- Within two (2) years after the effectivity of this Act, the CBMS Oversight Committee shall conduct a systematic evaluation of the impact of this Act, accomplishments of the system, and the performance of the cities and municipalities on data collection, and of the PSA on its functions as the lead agency. (Section 12)

Appropriations
- The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act. (Section 13)

CBMS Council
- A CBMS Council is created, composed of the PSA, DILG and DICT, to be headed by the PSA, for purposes of achieving secure and efficient data sharing arrangements between and among concerned cities and municipalities and national government agencies to be used for their particular social protection and welfare programs and projects. (Section 14)
- The implementing rules and regulations shall define other appropriate functions of the CBMS Council. (Section 14)

Implementing Rules and Regulations
- Within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act, the National Statistician of the PSA, in consultation with various government agencies and stakeholders, shall promulgate the rules and regulations necessary for the effective implementation of this Act. (Section 15)

Transitory Provision
- The national government agencies which currently collect poverty data for purposes of targeting deserving beneficiaries to their respective social protection programs shall continue to perform their duties and responsibilities in a holdover capacity for a period of one (1) year from the effectivity of the implementing rules and regulations, or for such period as may be determined by the PSA to ensure compliance with the requirements of this Act. (Section 16)

Separability Clause
- If any provision or part of this Act is held unconstitutional or invalid, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall remain in full force and effect. (Section 17)

Repealing Clause
- Any law, presidential decree, executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. (Section 18)

Effectivity
- This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. (Section 19)