LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Governor Amado I. Espino, III, along with Sangguniang Panlalawigan members and department and office heads of the provincial government, led the ceremonial awarding of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2015 certification to the administrative and support services of the Provincial Government of Pangasinan from the Socotec Certification International held at the Capitol Plaza during the regular flag-raising ceremony recently.
The transition of the certification from ISO 9001:2008 to ISO 9001:2015 of the provincial government of Pangasinan affirms the high-quality administrative and support services of the provincial government.
ISO 9001:2015 is patterned after the Quality Management Principles (QMPs) which include: Context of the Organization, Leadership, Planning, Support, Operation, Performance Evaluation and Improvement. These seven management principles should be present in the services rendered by the offices to its customers and clienteles.
Among the offices included in the administrative and support services which were cited in the ISO 9001:2015 certification were: Provincial Accounting Office headed by Arturo V. Soriano for financial management; General Services Office headed by Evan Gladish P. Domalanta for procurement, maintenance of aircondition systems and electrical facilities and maintenance of cleanliness of parks and buildings; Provincial Planning and Development Office headed by Benita M. Pizarro for investment planning; Provincial Engineering Office headed by Engr. Antonieta C. Delos Santos for repair and maintenance of buildings and vehicles; Human Resource Management Development Office headed by Janette C. Asis; Management Information Services Office headed by Modesto R. Singson for information technology; and Provincial Governor’s Office – Administrative Division headed by Dr. Irmina B. Francisco for records management.
According to the HRMDO chief, the salient and most important feature of ISO 9001:2015 — which is not present in ISO 9001:2008 — is the Risk Management component which aims to help organizations and offices make preventive actions inherent to planning, operation, analysis and evaluation activities.
Asis further noted that the similarity of both standards is that they follow matching requirements – mandatory requirements, organizational requirements, client satisfaction and ISO requirements to be fulfilled by the office or organization who wish to apply for the certification.
It can be recalled that the support services of the province of Pangasinan received its ISO 9001:2008 certification in 2014 along with the Provincial Health Office and the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital (PPH) which were cited for quality health services.
The efforts of the provincial government in improving the delivery of public services are affirmed further with the issuance of ISO:9001-2015 certification, which officially validates the superiority of the administrative and support services of the province of Pangasinan.
The ISO certification is valid for three years.
By Dexter A. See