Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) Internal Quality Audit (IQA) Team conducted an internal audit of all PFDA-Central Office (CO) units, held on July 5 to 7, 2023, in a bid to prepare the office for the upcoming third-party ISO 9001:2015 Certification audit.

Internal auditors, led by Internal Audit Department Officer-in-Charge and IQA Team Head Ms. Brenda T. Malapira, determined whether the Quality Management System (QMS) based on the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 standards is effectively implemented by all CO employees.

Ms. Malapira said that this internal audit is both a requirement and a guide for the continual improvement of the PFDA-CO’s QMS, which covers Project Management. Based on the audit findings, she said it is noteworthy that most of the non-conformities (NC) and opportunities for improvement (OFI) in the previous year’s audit are now addressed or complied with.

On behalf of PFDA Quality Management Representative (QMR) Ms. Gina J. Reyes, the Deputy QMR Mr. Eric M. Sims gave a round of applause to the IQA team for their outstanding job. They said that they are confident that the PFDA will achieve ISO recertification.

To close the meeting, Mr. Sims encouraged everyone to “be proactive in these observations and let us focus on making this a part of our working life here in PFDA. Let us extend all our hands to help this organization move forward.”

The third-party surveillance audit by TÜV Rheinland is expected to take place in September 2023. 

(Mark Angelo N. Perez with photos from Paul Vincent R. del Rosario – Public Information Division)