Lens User Guide

What is Lens?

Lens is an interactive map viewer designed to make Philippine geographic and civic data easy to explore. It is built for researchers, planners, developers, and anyone who needs to quickly check regional statistics or download boundary files.

The tool compiles population census data, local financial statistics, economic indicators, and election records, projecting them directly onto a map of the Philippine administrative levels.

Core features and how to use them

Switching administrative levels

You can adjust the boundary view to inspect different tiers of local government. Use the level control options on the map to switch views across the country, region, province, city or municipality, and barangay levels.

Viewing civic data overlays

Lens overlays datasets onto boundary maps to show geographic distributions. You can toggle between several default data layers:

• Population Statistics: Total residents, age groupings, and sex distribution per area based on census logs.
• Economic Indicators: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) formatted in PSA constant 2018 prices.
• LGU Finances: Financial statements showing assets and revenue totals compiled from audit documents.
• Election Records: Built-in election results showing voting breakdowns from the 2022 presidential polls.
• Custom CSV Uploads: You can upload your own custom spreadsheet files, provided they are keyed using the standard Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC).

Comparing places side by side

To analyze differences between two locations, use the comparison features. Select any two regions, provinces, or municipalities to display their charts, financial metrics, and demographic charts next to each other on the screen.

Downloading GeoJSON boundary files

For GIS developers and researchers, Lens exports standard GeoJSON files matching RFC 7946 and WGS 84 specifications. Select an administrative boundary and use the download option to export the coordinates, complete with integrated PSGC keys.

Data sources

The geographic and statistic information shown in Lens comes from public reports:

• Population and GDP datasets are sourced from reports published by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
• Election result numbers are compiled from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) official tallies.
• LGU asset figures are compiled from the Commission on Audit (COA) annual financial reports.

For complete citations, licenses, and specific dataset files, visit the data sources documentation in the Lens GitHub Repository.

Independence disclaimer

Lens is an independent open-source project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or representative of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), or any official government agency.