The long-awaited reward from long hours of hard labor had finally been reaped. The core processes of the National Economic and Development Authority Regional Office 2, namely: development planning and policy formulation and monitoring, investment programming and budgeting, and program and project monitoring and evaluation are now ISO 9001:2008 certified.

The NEDA RO 2 successfully established and implemented a quality management system (QMS) that complies with ISO 9001: 2008 standards. Said QMS was assessed over the period through the conduct of various audits (internal and external) in order to check its conformance to specified requirements for certification. Fortunately enough, the certifying body, Certification International Philippines Inc. confirmed said conformance and awarded the certificate to the agency last December 12, 2012.

With the certification of its processes, NEDA RO 2 fully recognizes the significance of continual improvement and firm commitment to maintain and further enhance its QMS to meet the needs of its clienteles and achieve its targets.

The agency started its pursuit of ISO 9001:2008 certification last CY 2008. In the region, the regional offices of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Science and Technology (DOST) were among the government agencies who have already acquired said certification.

ISO helps to improve the processes of an organization and facilitates standardization among agencies and institutions. A surveillance audit through an external auditor shall be conducted annually to validate the consistent implementation and effectiveness of the established QMS.