Who is Mercedes Concepcion? (School and studies?

Title

Her contribution

Mercedes B. Concepcion – first Filipina demographer (an expert in the study of statistics relating to
the changing structure of human populations.)

(born June 10, 1928) is a Filipino social scientist who was named a National Scientist of the
Philippines in 2010. Concepcion was also dubbed the "Mother of Asian Demography" because of
her contributions in population studies and policy within the region. In 2002, she was named the
"First Filipino Demographer" by the Philippine American Foundation.

Dr. Mercedes B. Concepcion is a recognized pioneer in three social science

disciplines— sociology, demography, and statistics. Dr. Concepcion is the first to undertake
research and write on demographic trends, challenges, and policies in the Philippines. 

Mercedes B. Concepcion
MERCEDES B. CONCEPCION, PhD, internationally recognized demography expert is new National
Scientist
Dr. Mercedes Concepcion is recognized for her work in population and in improving the health and
welfare of individuals. She is a trustee of the Philippine Center for Population and Development and
Foundation for Adolescent Development.
Dr. Mercedes B. Concepcion, an internationally recognized expert in demography and an
Academician, was declared National Scientist through President Gloria Arroyo’s Proclamation No.
1980 issued on January 14, 2010. Dr. Concepcion was conferred the rank and title of National Scientist for her
outstanding contributions in the field of demography. This is the highest honor that the Philippine
government can bestow on a Filipino scientist for his/her outstanding contributions to science and technology.
Her outstanding accomplishments covered the study of population composition and trends and their
implications for social and economic development, the growth of urbanization, the situation of the elderly,
and employment. Said studies resulted in the formulation of population policies here and abroad.

Demography and population

The subject of demography is often associated with the name of Dr. Concepcion. The woman who was
honored as the first Filipino demographer by the Philippine American Foundation in 2002 has racked up
many “firsts” in her distinguished career. She was the first Filipino staff member of the United Nations
Statistical Training Centre set up at the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1955, the first director of the
newly established Population Institute at the UP in 1965, the first and sole Philippine Representative to the
United Nations Population Commission in 1967, the first woman to chair this UN Population
Commission from 1969 to 1977, and the first Asian woman to be elected President of the International Union
for the Scientific Study of Population in 1981-1985.

The Vatican recognized Dr. Concepcion’s expertise when it invited her to be one of two Asian members of the
special committee for studies on problems of population and birth control (popularly known as the Birth
Control Commission) in November 1964 which led to the promulgation of the famous encyclical Humane
Vitae in 1968. She was also selected by the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East
(now the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) to be a member and later chairperson of
the Preparatory Committees for the Asian Population Conferences of 1963, 1972, 1984, and 1994.

Other involvements
Dr. Concepcion, together with the late Acting UP President Enrique T. Virata and Professor Philip M. Hauser
of the University of Chicago, worked for the establishment of the UP Population Institute (UPPI) in 1964 with
funding assistance from the Ford Foundation. This Institute served as the secretariat of the ad hoc Population
Commission that was instrumental in the enactment of the Population Act of 1971 that provided for a national
population policy and a family planning program. Through the years, the UPPI has earned a reputation as a
prime research and training center on population related fields.

In 1986, Dr. Concepcion chaired the Committee to Review the Philippine Statistical System which led to the
reorganization of the country’s statistical offices and to the establishment of the National
Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). Twenty years later, she was again appointed to the Committee to
Review the Philippine Statistical System.

Research efforts
Her research efforts have gained recognition not only locally but also internationally. Under her leadership, the
Population Institute collaborated with its counterpart institutions in Southeast Asia to undertake joint research
projects on population and family planning. She headed the Organization of Demographic Associates
(ODA) composed of leading population institutes in Asia. The ODA planned and implemented research
studies on migration, urbanization, the elderly and population and development issues in the late 1970s and
early 1980s. The research results were used by the region’s policy makers and program managers as guides to
effective population and program management. She was also tapped by the World Health Organization in the
80s to chair the Steering Committee on the Social and Psychological Determinants of Fertility Regulation, a
committee that reviewed research and action program proposals for funding.

Degrees and authorships

Dr. Concepcion obtained her B.Sc. degree in chemistry from the UP in 1951. A recipient of a Colombo Plan
fellowship she pursued studies in Biostatistics at the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine of the
University of Sydney in Australia in 1953-54. In 1958 she garnered a Population Council fellowship to take up
studies in Sociology/Demography at the University of Chicago where she obtained a Ph.D. in 1963. She has
authored innumerable publications and served scores of consultancies with the United Nations Population
Fund, the UN Development Fund, the UN Statistical Office, the World Health Organization, the UN Training
and Research Institute for the Advancement of Women and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific.

Honors and Awards

Dr. Concepcion has been honored by several institutions and organizations. In 1970, the Ateneo de Manila
University invested her with a Doctor of Humane Letters (honoris causa) and two years later she received the
Rafael Salas Population and Development Award. The UP named her one of its University Professors in 1988.
For her invaluable contributions at regional, national and international levels in the field of demography, the
United Nations conferred on her its 2005 UN Population Award while the UP Alumni Association voted to
give her the Distinguished Alumna Award in 2006.

In 1992, Dr. Concepcion was elected Academician by the National Academy of Science and Technology. In
May 2009, the NAST membership endorsed Academician Concepcion to President GM Arroyo for the Order
of National Scientist. 
At present, National Scientist Concepcion continues to be busy with the Commission on Population where she
serves as Board member. She also chairs the NSCB Technical Committee on Population and Housing
Statistics. She serves as Vice-President of the Executive Council of the National Academy of Science and
Technology, and Vice-President of the Pangarap Foundation for Street Children.

AGRICULTURE
It served as the principal government agency for the efficient collection, processing, analysis
and dissemination of official statistics on agriculture and fisheries as inputs to policy and decision
towards a sustainable agricultural development.
DOLE
Its mandate was to “develop and prescribe uniform standards, nomenclatures and methodologies for
the collection, processing, presentation and analysis of labor and employment data”. [8]
 National Statistics Office (NSO) (formerly known as Bureau of Census and
Statistics) was the Philippine government's major statistical agency responsible for collecting,
compiling, classifying, producing, publishing, and disseminating general-purpose statistics. It was
responsible for collecting, compiling, classifying, producing, publishing and disseminating general-
purpose statistics and for carrying out and administering the provisions of the Civil Registry Law.
National Statistical Coordination Board
It aimed to achieve the development of an orderly statistical system capable of providing
timely, accurate and useful data for the planning, programming and evaluation needs of all sectors of
the Philippine economy.