Palo, Leyte, Eastern Visayas – “The DepEd RO VIII hopes to be the first DepEd Regional Office to be ISO certified”. Dir. Luisa Bautista-Yu emphasized in her message during the ISO orientation for the regional employees held last July 13, 2015.

Director Yu has been very consistent in her desire to make DepEd RO VIII an ISO accredited office to cement its good practices in the delivery of its basic government services. She believes that this undertaking will promote transparency, integrity, accountability in the institution.

As an initial step, Diector Yu spearheaded the conduct of the ISO orientation which aimed to promote awareness among its employees and prepare everyone for the next steps. It can be noted that the Office has undergone transition since the full implementation of the Rationalization and the Results-based Performance System (RPMS). All these are geared towards sustaining efficiency and effectivity in the delivery of the basic services of the office.

Prior to the Orientation on ISO Preparations, DepEd RO VIII conducted benchmarking in some ISO certified government agencies of the region. Among the agencies visited are TESDA Regional Office, DOST, DOH and DTI considering that these are some of the top performing agencies of the region.

Director Cleta M. Omega of TESDA RO VIII and Asst. Regional Director Engr. Ernesto Granada of DOST Region VIII shared insights on the preparations for ISO, the journey that their respective offices went through and the advantages of being ISO accredited. It was also emphasized that the bottom line of going through the process is to sustain quality service and ensure clientele satisfaction.

DepEd RO VIII plans to have its Quality Management Systems to be ISO certified. “Since we are to start on our own, we will be coordinating with the DepEd Central Office through the BEST Program to get the help we need to start the process”, Dir. Yu added.

Director Omega said that if the Office would really proceed on the ISO Accreditation, it has to strengthen its implementation of the 5s of good housekeeping.