MANILA, Philippines – Esteemed economist Dennis Mapa was named national statistician by President Rodrigo Duterte.

As national statistician, Mapa will head the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Mapa’s appointment paper was signed by Duterte on Monday, May 27. It was released to the public on Tuesday, May 28. Mapa took his oath in Malacañang on Monday.

He takes the place of Lisa Bersales, whose term ended last April 22. Mapa will serve in his post for 5 years or until 2024.

As PSA chief, Mapa will lead the implementation of the National ID system, which Duterte signed into law in August 2018.

Critic of TRAIN law

Before this appointment, Mapa was dean of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman School of Statistics. As an academic, he had much to say about the Duterte administration’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

For instance, he maintained that the tax reform law hurt the poorest Filipino households due to elevated inflation, countering the Department of Finance which downplayed the impact of the measure.

Mapa had also said that the cash transfers for poor households provided by the TRAIN law are not enough to help them survive inflation and are based on erroneous assumptions.

Mapa holds two master’s degrees from UP, one in statistics and another in economics. He also has a doctorate degree in economics. – Rappler.com