CITY OF TABUK, Kalinga (PIA) – – Population growth rate in Kalinga in five years is lower than the national and regional growth rate. But it is still the third most populated in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
In the 2015 Census on Population, Kalinga grew only by 11,067 persons or an average annual growth rate of 1.02 percent from 201,613 in 2010 to 212,680 last year compared to the national growth rate of 1.72% and CAR regional growth rate at 1.21%.
Maribel Dalayday, provincial statistics officer of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) attributed the slow growth rate to the high net out migration rate or the outflow of people from the province to settle in other places. Population density in the province is only 65 per square kilometer.
She said the fast growing population is Tabuk City from 103,912 in 2010 to 110,642 in 2015 or an annual population growth rate of 1.2% while the municipality with the lowest in population, Lubuagan, registered an annual growth rate of negative 1.33% from 9,369 to 8,733 in 2015.
In another development, Dalayday informed that PSA-Kalinga is 10th place among 81 provinces in terms of performance. She said their office earned 72.14% in the overall rating from five categories: statistical operation, 51.33%; civil registration, 9.18%; financial administration and human resource, 9.18%; information dissemination, 0.79%; and partnership and linkages, 0.18%. This earned them a plaque of recognition and P7,500.00 cash incentive.
“We are happy and the more challenged to perform better since we were number 32 last year when Kalinga and Apayao was one provincial office,” Dalayday said.
The PSA’s ongoing assessment under the 2015 version of the International Organization for Standardization or ISO is on the initial stage having just completed the manual of procedures. **By Peter A. Balocnit
