COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 10 June) – Taken aback when described as “musmos” or “sanggol” (infant) in a recent congressional hearing on the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that centered attention on the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), officials here want to prove the critics wrong as the region is seeking accreditation to be recognized as providing the highest quality of management system.
ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman on Tuesday led the signing for the region’s quest to be accredited under ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System, with his cabinet personalities as witnesses and signatories of the document.
Lawyer Laisa Alamia, ARMM executive secretary, said the move was “the first time in the history of ARMM.” He described the process as “the most difficult reform strategy.”
Hataman describes the ISO accreditation as a move to uplift ARMM without sacrificing policies.
“We are setting the ISO standard for the Bangsamoro entity,” Hataman said in a press briefing.
ISO 9001:2008 is described as the setting of criteria for a quality management system used by any organization, large or small and regardless of its field of activity.
It aims to enhance customer or client satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes of continual improvement and assurance of conformity, applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
Applicants for ISO certification expect to achieve certification in three to six months from a recognized certifying body depending on their size and complexity when they start what is in the ISO quality manual.
The next stage will be audit, wherein the assessor will check the written quality management system if they meet the requirements and match what was actually done, highlights any areas of deficiency and potential improvement of the system.
This will be followed by the certification assessment wherein the auditor or assessor will check if the organization complies with the requirements.
ARMM officials expect that the adherence to standards will help ensure the region’s products and services consistently meet clients’ requirements and that quality is consistently approved.
