QMS Unit Conducts Executive Course on ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System to DFA Top Management

DFA Senior Management including Honorable Ambassador Eduardo Kapunan, Undersecretary Ernesto Abella, Assistant Secretaries Theresa Lazaro, Nathaniel Imperial, Grace Cruz-Fabella, Jaime Ledda, Angela Ponce, Adelio Cruz, Gina Jamoralin, Consul General Raly Tejada, and other colleagues in the DFA, the QMR and QMS Unit during the Executive Course on ISO on 05 May 2021.

PASAY 10 May 2021 — The DFA QMS Unit under the leadership of the DFA Quality Management Representative and  Officer-in-Charge, Undersecretary for Administration Antonio A. Morales organized  the Executive Course on ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System (QMS) for DFA Senior Management on 05 May 2021, which discussed the relevance of QMS for organizational development, transformation, and improvement, and the roles and responsibilities of the Top Management in compliance with the ISO 9001:2015 standards and the DFA-QMS.

The Executive Course was refined and revamped by the QMS Unit to become more interactive and suitable while being practical for its intended audience. The course program is divided into three segments - the discussion on ISO 9001:2015 QMS, the Audit Process and Top Management, and the QMS in Context: The AFP Experience. The first part, delivered by the QMS Highly Technical Consultant Mr. Oliver F. Aborque, highlighted the benefits of the QMS which include organizational resiliency and business continuity. It also provided awareness of the duties and responsibilities of the Top Management in implementing the QMS throughout the Department.

For the second part of the program, the QMS Unit invited resource speakers to provide an insight into the current audit process of the DFA. The Director of Internal Audit Service, Mr. Jay F. Alcantara, highlighted the remote conduct of Internal Quality Audit (IQA) to adapt to the “new normal” without disregarding the policies in place. The Lead Management System of TUV Nord Mr. Ivan Felix I. Herrera, on the other hand, emphasized that having ISO 9001 Certification in the government is like having a badge of quality which the DFA could be proud of.

The last part of the program was delivered by General Emmanuel T. Bautista, a former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff. General Bautista shared his leadership philosophy, a principle of collective leadership, emphasizing that leadership is done not just by an individual but with a group of people, which in his previous experience was the Military Chain of Command. He also reminded that “change management is a difficult undertaking, but the Department should focus on it and embed it into its processes”. END

9001:2015 QMS

Left photo: The Status of ISO 9001 Certification in the Philippines presented by TUV Nord Representative - Mr. Ivan Felix Herrera; Right photo: Presentation on QMS in Context: The AFP Experience by General Emmanuel T. Bautista