THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Negros Occidental - South is girding its quest for International Standardization Organization (ISO) certification.
Engineer Arnulfo Figueroa, officer-in-charge Provincial Agrarian Reform program officer II, in a statement, said the agency is now starting to comply with necessary requirements to attain the Quality Management System Standard in a bid to improve its frontline services.
Figueroa said as one of the preliminary activities prescribed by ISO Manual, the agency conducted an orientation activity dubbed as “ISO 9001:2015 Orientation: A Road to DAR Negros Occidental 2’s Certification” at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City on February 18 to 20.
It was participated by officials and personnel of DAR-Negros Occidental II including its security guards.
“Through this activity, we were able to orient the personnel of the basic concepts of ISO-QMS and their respective role in our quest for ISO Certification by 2021,” he added.
The agency invited former DAR-Negros Occidental II Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Florentino Siladan as their lecturer during the three-day orientation.
After the said orientation, the agency through its designated ISO-QMS team will undergo strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis.
It is a strategic planning technique used by the organization to identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to its regular engagements with its clientele and various stakeholders.
The result of SWOT Analysis will serve as bases for the formulation of the agency’s own ISO quality manual, DAR-Negros Occidental II said.
For his part, Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer I Enrique Paderes said being an ISO institution means that the agency is maintaining a seal of quality and are implementing an internationally-recognized standard, which seeks to strive for continual improvement, resulting to higher level of effectiveness, efficiency, and credibility in public service delivery.
This is what DAR-Negros Occidental II is aiming for, Paderes said.
“It is a difficult, challenging and voluminous process but through the dedication and cooperation of all personnel and officials, this is possible,” he said.
“After the DAR Provincial Office, our municipal offices will try to embark on ISO certification as it’s been a long plan of the agency,” the official added.