The Philippines acknowledges the significant progress made by the Working Group on National Accounts in updating the 2008 System of National Accounts (SNA).

The inclusive approach taken through the global consultation process and the efforts to ensure consistency with other statistical standards through in-depth discussions with relevant subject matter experts and harmonization with the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM) is highly appreciated. 

The Philippines supports the proposed updates on the 2008 SNA, particularly the inclusion of new chapters that broaden the scope of the national accounts framework and strengthen its ability to capture emerging trends such as digitalization, and unpaid work, among others. 

Given the updates to the new manual, conceptual aspects of some recommendations need to be discussed further, particularly on how these will be implemented by economies. Regional or targeted capacity building activities towards the adoption of the new recommendations is imperative. It is necessary to discuss how to integrate the conventional measurement of the performance of the economy with that of the measure of well-being of the people and the environment.
Thus, we support the development of implementation guidance as this will be crucial for ensuring the successful adoption of the recommendations. We anticipate the release of the updated SNA and are actively preparing for its progressive adoption. We also express our desire to participate in the upcoming joint SNA/BPM outreach seminar as this provides an excellent opportunity to exchange perspectives with colleagues and guide our future implementation efforts. 

We look forward to a continued collaboration with all stakeholders and we reaffirm our commitment to contributing to future assessments of the Statistics Division. 

Thank you, Mr. Chair.