Batas Pambansa 72 | Senate of the Philippines Legislative Reference Bureau

SECTION 1. A national census of population and other related data shall be taken every decade beginning in 1980, in accordance with plans prepared by the National Census and Statistics Office, without prejudice to the undertaking of special censuses on agriculture, industry, commerce, housing and other sectors as may be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority.

SEC. 2. There is hereby created the National Census Coordinating Board to be composed of the Minister of Economic Planning, as Chairman, the Minister of Human Settlements, the Minister of the Budget, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of .National Defense, the Minister of Labor, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Education and Culture, the Minister of Public Works, the Minister of Transportation and Communications, the Minister of Public Highways, the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of Natural Resources, the Minister of Public Information, and the Minister of Local Government and Community Development, as members, with the Executive Director of the National Census and Statistics Office as Executive Officer of the Board.

The censuses shall be under the supervision and coordination of the National Census Coordinating Board which shall issue. such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the successful undertaking and completion of the censuses provided in this Act.

SEC. 3. There shall be established a provincial, city and municipal census board in each province, city and municipality, as the case may be, which shall provide such facilities and assistance as may be required by the National Census Coordinating Board. The boards shall be under the supervision and control of the National Census Coordinating Board.

SEC. 4. The, Provincial Census Board shall be composed of the Provincial Governor, as Chairman, and the Division Superintendent of Schools, or in the case of provinces with more than one school division, the Division Superintendent designated by the National Census Coordinating Board, as Vice Chairman, the District Highway Engineer, or in the case: of provinces which have two or more highway engineering districts, the one that may be designated by the National Census Coordinating Board, the Provincial Commander of the Philippine Constabulary, the Provincial Development Officer, the Provincial Assessor, and the Provincial Agriculturist, as members, with the Provincial Census Officer as the Executive Officer.

The City Census Board shall be composed of the City Mayor, as Chairman, and the City Superintendent of Schools, as Vice Chairman, the City Engineer, the City Development Officer, and the City Assessor, as members, with the City Census Officer as the Executive Officer.

The Municipal Census Board shall be composed of the Municipal Mayor, as Chairman, and the District Supervisor, the Municipal Agriculturist, the Station Commander, the Municipal Treasurer, and the Municipal Development Officer, as members, with the Municipal Census-Officer/Census Supervisor as the Executive Officer.

SEC. 5. The National Census Coordinating Board and the local census boards may call upon any ministry, bureau, office, agency or instrumentality of the Government for, any assistance in the performance of their duties.

SEC. 6. The first day of May of every regular census year is hereby designated as the reference date for the census. The collection of data will be by enumeration and the respondent shall be the head or any responsible member of the household.

SEC. 7. Public school teachers shall be employed for enumeration work and for such service shall be paid an honorarium as may be determined by the National Census Coordinating Board but in no case not less than two hundred-fifty pesos and shall receive service credits equivalent to the number of days rendered in census work. Other government employees whose services are engaged for census work shall be entitled to such allowances as shall be prescribed by the National Census Coordinating Board payable from census funds. The census herein taken at the barangay level shall be certified to by the corresponding barangay captain.

SEC. 8. Before the end of the year 1980 and of every census year thereafter, a count of the population by province, city, municipality and barangay shall be published by the National Census and Statistics Office. The final population count as determined from the processed census returns shall be considered official for all purposes upon proclamation by the President (Prime Minister).

SEC. 9. Data gathered pursuant to this Act shall not be used as evidence in any court or public office for or against any person, except in a criminal case for violation of Section 10 of this Act, nor shall such data be divulged to any person except to authorized employees of the National Census and Statistics Office, acting in the performance of their duties; nor shall such data be published except in the form of summaries or statistical tables in which no reference to an individual shall appear. Any person violating any provision of this Section shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred pesos or by imprisonment of not more than six months, or both.

SEC. 10. Any respondent as provided for in Section 6 who unjustifiably refuses to furnish the information called for in the census questionnaire, or knowingly certifies or gives data or information which shall prove to be materially untrue in any particular, shall be guilty of an offense under this Act and shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred pesos or by imprisonment of not more than three months, or both.

SEC. 11. The amount necessary for the holding of censuses shall be charged to the appropriations available for the purpose in the corresponding Appropriations Acts.

SEC. 12. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, June 11, 1980.

Source: Supreme Court E-Library