The national census of Philippine population and housing officially begins on May 1, 2000. The announcement was made by Administrator Tomas Africa of the National Statistics Office (NSO). The NSO will field about 44,500 census-takers (enumerators), 9,700 team supervisors, and 1,100 census area supervisors to collect data on the 15.3 million households in about 42 thousand barangays all over the country.

Public school teachers comprise the force of enumerators. The NSO has provided them with the appropriate training for the conduct of the census interview. The enumerators will wear official Census 2000 IDs and will carry official enumerators' kits and relevant materials.

Africa said that the census was designed to pose as little inconvenience as possible for the households. It will consist of a 20- to 30-minute interview with one member of the household - the head, or spouse, or other responsible person who can answer on behalf of the head. The enumerators will ask basic information about the family - the number of people residing within the household, and their educational background, civil status, ethnicity, professions, livelihood activity, and other demographic data including their housing characteristics and amenities. All information to be collected about the population and living quarters will be counted as of 12:01 AM of the reference date.

"We are asking the public's full cooperation for Census 2000," urged the Administrator, emphasizing on the need for reliable nationwide data base for the country to achieve the appropriate socio-economic progress as envisioned by the government's Angat Pinoy 2004 program. "Census 2000 is a legitimate exercise and is bound by the laws of confidentiality," he added. He assured that the NSO adheres to the principle of accountability and data collected from the respondents are summarized and become part of national or community statistics.

The NSO vowed to make Census 2000 to be the most complete, accurate and comprehensive count of all Filipinos in the country's history since 1903, the first official census undertaken in the last century. As early as 1998, the agency has started mapping out its plans and strategies in all aspects of operation for the successful conduct of the undertaking. These include, among others coordination efforts with several other national government agencies and local government units including those at the barangay level. Likewise, partnership with the private sectors such as civic, business, social, religious and non-government organizations and the media were also strengthened to help intensify information dissemination activities.

To allay fears of some respondents, particularly those in Chinese communities, coordination efforts with the executive leadership of Kaisa Para sa Kaunlaran, Inc., a recognized Filipino-Chinese organization, were likewise tapped for information dissemination. The support of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. was likewise secured.

The NSO got a big boost from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front when Chairman Hashim Salamat in an earlier meeting with NSO officials have expressed the Front's support and cooperation with the census "to bring about development in Mindanao." MILF Vice Chairman for Political Affairs Ghazali Jaafar in an official statement issued last March ensures the safety of census enumerators and supervisors in rebel-held areas.

Just a week before the census enumeration, the Social Weather Station (SWS), in a special media release stated that three of four Filipinos they have interviewed have expressed their willingness to participate in the census. Willingness to participate in the census is the same across all areas and socio-demographic characteristic. The item on the willingness to participate in Census 2000 was not commissioned and was included by the SWS on its own initiative in a survey held on March 2000.

First Lady, Dr. Luisa "Loi" Ejercito, on behalf of the First Family and Vice-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were among the firsts "households" to be interviewed by census enumerators. Other prominent personalities, include two former Philippine presidents, Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos, and Senator Aquilino Pimentel, Jr.