The first Surveillance Audit of the National Economic and Development Authority Region 02’s Quality Management System (QMS) ISO 9001:2008 certification was held this November 18 and 19, where the Certification International Philippines (CIP) external editor concluded “no non-conformities”.

According to Mr. Renato Julian M. David, the lead auditor of this Audit, the NRO 2’s QMS performed well in which most of the targets were achieved beyond what had been set, the quality objectives and targets were consistently monitored, the results of internal audit were documented, and any deviations from planned results were effectively addressed.

“I am not raising any non-conformity,” Mr. David said during the Closing Meeting of the Audit. He commended the agency’s Internal Quality Audit (IQA) Team which he remarked to be the agency’s strength and valuable asset in ensuring the conformance of its established QMS to ISO 9001:2008 and in continually improving the effectiveness of said QMS. He also congratulated the NRO 2 for a job well done.

The external audit covered the QMS implementation in the following processes: development planning and policy formulation and monitoring, investment programming and budgeting, and program and project monitoring and evaluation.

“The result of the audit signals everyone to continue working as best as we can to do things right,” said NEDA 2 OIC-RD MaryAnne E.R. Darauay. She said that while the office is in a transition period, the staff were able to cope well and remained resilient even if the organization is 1/3 less of manpower. “Hopefully, we will be able to sustain and further improve our operations,” she added.

The next surveillance audit will be conducted again next year to validate the consistent implementation and effectiveness of the established QMS.