Quezon City—The Department of Education Regional Office III received its Registration Certificate for the ISO 9001:2015 Standard on June 29 during the National Symposium on Continuous Improvement (CI) conducted by the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Basic Education Sector Transformation (BEST) Program.

DepEd RO3 is one of the first two DepEd units in the country along with DepEd Region 4A to acquire an ISO 9001:2015 Certification. The said certification is valid from June 28 2017 until June 27 2020. AJA Registrars President Paul Bagatsing and Head of Business Development and Client Relations Laarni Nolido conferred the Certificate to DepEd RO3 Regional Executive Committee (REXECOM) members led by Regional Director Malcolm Garma and Assistant Regional Director Nicolas Capulong.

For RD Garma, the ISO-Certification of Region III meant “quality becomes a policy.”

“ISO is about individuals. ISO is a commitment not only of the office or the institution, but the commitment of individual employees, from the Regional Directors down to the level of the utility workers. Everybody will be involved and should be involved. It is a panata, a panunumpa [commitment]. That is the mark of excellence in terms of delivery, service and the product,” Garma added.

The Scope of the Registration Certificate includes the Office of the Regional Director proper, ICT Unit, Legal Unit, Public Affairs Unit, Curriculum and Learning Management Division, Education Support Services Division, Field Technical Assistance Division, Human Resource Development Division, Policy Planning and Research Division, Quality Assurance Division, Administrative Division, and Finance Division.

The Department of Education Regional Office III developed a Quality Management System (QMS) Certifiable to ISO 9001:2015 which seeks to standardize the delivery of its organizational processes and enhance its services to its clientele. The said QMS is an outcome of the series of trainings and workshops attended by selected DepEd RO3 Personnel held at the Regional Office such as the ISO Overview/Management Responsibility (Module 1), ISO 9001 Documentation Requirements (Module 2), Quality Manual and Procedures (Module 3), Process Management and Documentation (Module 4), Control of Documents and Records (Module 5), Internal Quality Audit and Process (Module 6) and Understanding IQA (Module 7).  The seminars and orientations were facilitated by QMS Consultant Ronaldo Polancos, team members Kathrina Sta. Maria and Arcie Mallari, and freelance consultant Earl Tongol.

The DepEd RO3 ISO Organization, tasked to steer the preparations for the ISO Certification, is led by Assistant Regional Director Nicolas Capulong, QAD Chief Arthur Sacatropes as Quality Management Representative (QMR), Wendell Cabrera as Deputy QMR, Olivia Sibug as Document Controller, and FTAD Chief Edwin Marcos as Process and Quality Review (PQR) Lead.

Similarly, the DepEd RO3 has also crafted its Quality Mission and Policy which were confirmed and given commitment to by all the Regional Office Personnel during the Commitment Signing held last November 28.

DepEd RO3 remains steadfast in its commitment to bring this quality service and commitment down to the Schools Division Offices through the provision of technical assistance and guidance for other DepEd units vying for ISO Certification.•