The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), in collaboration  with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), conducts the January 2021 Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) enumeration on 24 March to 06 April 2021. This will be undertaken in 56 provinces representing all regions except the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). In Ilocos Region, this will be carried out in Ilocos Norte,  La Union, and Pangasinan with about 204 sample households  to be enumerated.

The CES is a household-based survey on consumers’ assessment  of their family income, financial situation, and the economic condition  of the country. It is a complementary survey to the Business Expectations Survey (BES) of the BSP. The PSA’s responsibility is to undertake  the data collection and encoding of the questionnaires  while the generation of tables and analysis of the results are to be done  by the BSP.

The survey aims to: a) provide a quick and regular assessment  of the financial condition of consumers and economic condition  of the country at present and in the near future, from the consumers’ own viewpoints; b) generate forecasts in the direction of the country’s economic activity based on consumers’ outlook in the current quarter, next quarter and the next 12 months; c) provide quick and regular assessment  of consumers’ confidence in terms of their income and expenditures  as well as their outlook on key economic indicators closely monitored  by the BSP such as inflation, exchange rate and interest rates; d) provide quick and regular assessment of the saving condition of consumers  at present; e) and provide a quick and regular assessment  of the outstanding debt situation of the household head,  his/her spouse/partner at present. 

Amidst the 2019 Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, minimum public health and safety protocols during all phases of the field operations will be strictly observed. 

The PSA requests the sample households to cooperate and provide truthful, complete and accurate information that will ultimately serve  as a vital input in evidence-based planning and decision-making.  The respondents are assured that data to be collected in the survey  shall be covered by the confidentiality of information clause  under Section 26 of Republic Act 10625, which stipulates that individual data furnished by a respondent to statistical inquiries, surveys,  and censuses of the PSA shall be considered privileged information  and such shall be inadmissible as evidence in any proceeding.