TRADE Secretary Ramon Lopez said a mindset of quality among Filipinos is necessary to build competitive industries and boost the competitiveness of products and services during the 21st Philippine Quality Awards (PQA) awarding ceremonies on Monday, December 9.

"We want to instill in everyone that hindi na talaga pwede ang pwede na, and that we all need to strive for excellence. Through this award, we not only want to create a mindset of quality in every Filipino, we want to create a worldwide brand that benchmarks quality in every Filipino product and service," Lopez said.

The PQA, administered by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), recognized three organizations for exemplary organizational performance: Southville International School was awarded the Level 1 Recognition for the Commitment to Quality Management, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-Cagayan Valley was awarded the Level 2 Proficiency in Quality Management, and the Philippine Heart Center won the Level 3 Mastery in Quality Management.

The trade chief also urged more organizations to strive for the PQA by starting with self-assessment and using the PQA Framework to address gaps and vulnerabilities in their organizations.

The Philippine Quality Award, established in 1997, is the highest national recognition for organizational performance. It measures organizations in seven categories, namely: 1.) leadership; 2.) strategy; 3.) customers; 4.) measurement, analysis and knowledge management; 5.) workforce; 6.) operations; and 7.) results.

According to Lopez, PQA's goal is to create a quality image for Filipino products and services. He said this will be symbolized by the battle cry "Galing Pilipinas, Galing Kalidad."

The trade secretary said achieving "Galing Pilipinas" takes a whole-of-nation approach and encouraged big businesses to develop their inclusive business model and include local suppliers as part of their value chain, adding that they should be a "big brother" to these small businesses to help them become more competitive.

"We want to ensure that nobody gets left behind in our economic growth story. This not only fulfils our goal of creating inclusive growth and shared prosperity for all, it also realizes the vision of President Rodrigo Duterte of a better quality of life for our countrymen," Lopez said.

The PQA Board of Judges was chaired by Mr. Francisco Eizmendi and included Civil Service Commission chairperson Alicia dela Rosa-Bala, Steel Asia Vice Chairman Adrian Cristobal Jr., Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) Asia Regional Human Resources Director Emma Valeros-Cruz, former secretary of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) Irene Isaac, PQA Foundation President Ruy Moreno, and Amkor Technology Philippines President and Country Manager Norberto Viera. (PR)