PASIG CITY, October 9, 2018 – The Department of Education (DepEd) Region VIII, and the Schools Division Offices of Bacoor City, Laoag City, and Ilocos Norte recently obtained International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Certification for displaying commitment to the standards of quality management in providing quality and efficient service to stakeholders.

Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones and other DepEd officials are delighted with this milestone and gave recognition to the said offices during the Awarding Ceremony of Certification to ISO 9001:2015 on September 21 at the Bulwagan ng Karunungan, DepEd Central Office in Pasig City.

“Congratulations! Ito [ISO Certification] ay nagpapakita na tayong lahat ay nagtatrabaho. Kung tayong lahat ay nagtatrabaho, tayong lahat din ay nahihirapan at nagtitiis. Pero gayunpaman, tayo ay masaya dahil ‘yung output ng ating paghihirap ay kitang-kita naman sa napakalaking improvement not only in the quality of our education, the reforms that we are initiating, but also in the systems that you are putting in place,” Briones stated.

  • Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones commended the ISO-certified DepEd offices and encouraged other regions and division offices to also advance their systems in her keynote speech at the Awarding Ceremony of Certification to ISO 9001:2015 at the DepEd Central Office in Pasig City.

The Secretary also conveyed her gratitude toward the ISO-certified DepEd offices as they took the initiative in advancing their systems and encouraged other regions and divisions to do the same.

“Importante talaga ang office systems… Ito ay konektado sa ating 10-point agenda na inumpisahan natin as early as 2016. Siyempre mag-umpisa tayo sa curriculum, pagtuturo, capacity building ng ating mga teachers, pero ang systems ay importante rin. Dahil it can spell efficiency or inefficiency. It can spell timely or late delivery of services. It can spell a failure or success of whatever initiatives we are pursuing to improve the quality of our education,” she explained.

Furthermore, Briones reminded the officials and other DepEd personnel that the ISO certification does not mean that the current systems are permanent. She underscored that continuous efforts to strive for change and improvements must always be achieved and realized.

“We must always be ready for change. Our ISO-certified systems will help us prepare for what we know will come, whatever it is, and whatever form it will take,” the Education chief concluded.

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