DFA Internal Quality Audit Secretariat, NCR East Consular Office Receive Commendations 

From left to right: Internal Audit Services (IAS) Assistant Secretary Giovanni E. Palec, Undersecretary for Administration and Quality Management Representative J. Eduardo Malaya, and Consular Office NCR East (CO NCR East) Officer-in-Charge Edward C. Yulo during the awarding ceremony on 26 January 2021. IAS and CO NCR East were commended for their best practices as cited by TUV Nord Philippines, Inc., a quality management certification company.

MANILA 05 February 2021 – Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Administration and Quality Management Representative J. Eduardo Malaya handed commendations to the Internal Audit Services’ Internal Quality Audit Secretariat and the National Capital Region (NCR) East Consular Office on 26 January 2021 in simple ceremonies for their best practices as cited by TUV Nord Philippines, Inc. during the Surveillance Audit on 10 December 2020, where the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) was also recommended for the maintenance of its ISO 9001:2015 certification.

Internal Audit Services Assistant Secretary Giovanni E. Palec, the Department’s Internal Quality Audit (IQA) Head, received the commendation for the IQA’s successful conduct of the Department's first-ever Remote Internal Quality Audit (RIQA) from August to September 2020, which the latter initiated in view of the alternative work arrangements prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

NCR East Consular Office Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Edward C. Yulo, on the other hand, received commendation for his office’s creation and introduction of a questionnaire that aids in the detection of passport applications by non-Filipino nationals. The NCR East Consular Office is one of the six consular offices in Metro Manila currently implementing the Department’s Quality Management System. 

“These trying times enabled us to see what processes need improvement, what are our new best practices, and how we can further close the gap between where we are and where we hope to be. The changes and adaptations we have made gave us clearer understanding and greater appreciation of the benefits and advantages of having a Quality Management System (QMS) in the Department, notably anticipating contingencies even before they happen.” remarked Undersecretary Malaya.

As part of the Department’s commitment to continually improve its services, in 2021, the DFA-QMS scope will expand to cover four additional offices outside Metro Manila, namely consular offices in Dasmarinas, Lucena and in Pampanga, and the DFA Mindanao; as well as the foreign service posts that offered to be pilot posts for the QMS, namely the Philippine Embassies in Riyadh, Baghdad, Yangon, Paris, Berlin and Canberra, and the Consulates General in Hong Kong and Macau. END