THE Certification International Philippines Inc. (CIPI), a certifying body that issues certification to ISO standards compliant establishments has granted the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Cordillera Administrative Region Quality Management System certification under the ISO 9001:2008 Standards.
Following two directives issued by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that institutionalizes Quality Management System in Government and sets the Structure, Mechanisms and Standards of the QMS, agencies like the DTI adopted several measures in order to be certified.
Director Myrna P. Pablo said that DTI-CAR formally adopted its Quality Management System on September 15, 2009 and was formally certified as compliant to ISO 9001:2008 by Certification International Philippines Inc. on June 25 2010. Their certification responds to the agency's commitment to good governance, one of the key thrusts for this term.
Pablo who also heads the Sectoral Committee on Economic Development of the Cordillera Regional Development Council expressed optimism that through the Quality Management System under ISO 2009:2008 certification, procedures will be consistently carried out and problems can be identified and better resolved.
Since the ISO is a mechanism for maintaining and improving the quality of products or services in order to consistently meet or exceed the customer's implied or stated needs, Pablo said DTI undertook various advocacy activities for its personnel that included skills development seminars and trainings.
DTI-CAR began its program in 2007 with local study missions to the Bureau of Product Standards and prepared quality documents which were submitted to a national QMS Implementation Team composed of regional and provincial DTI personnel. A Quality Policy was then crafted by the QMS Implementation Team who also prepared templates of Quality Manual, Quality Objectives and Operations Manual.
Lawyer Samuel Gallardo who heads the Consumer Welfare and Trade Regulation Division of DTI-CAR and is the designated Regional ISO Coordinator said that DTI-CAR's own quality documents became the basis of their application for ISO 9001:2008 certification.
When asked what benefits the DTI-CAR can derive from said certification, Gallardo explained that ISO 9000 standards give organizations an opportunity to increase value to their activities and improve their performance continually, by focusing on their major processes. (PR)