By Kimberly S. Miguel, StratCom Correspondent

To consistently improve the management systems at Mariano Marcos State University, the Development Academy of the Philippines has again granted the university with the Government Quality Management Program. Under the program, MMSU will receive technical assistance from DAP for a capacity-building intervention for auditing quality management systems. 

MMSU first received the DAP training grant in 2019, which enabled it to attain ISO 9001:2015 certification in 2020, and to obtain recertification this year.

The second grant was formalized with DAP President and CEO Engelbert C. Caronan, Jr. signing a memorandum of understanding with MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis on August 10. Atty. Caronan was represented by DAP Senior Vice President Monina AR De Armas during the MOU signing. 

The two-month project aims to enhance MMSU personnel’s knowledge and understanding about effective internal audit in accordance with ISO 19011:2018. Particularly, this will enable participants to demonstrate their skills in planning and performing an effective internal audit, and reporting audit findings. 

The QMS core team members and other MMSU employees will undergo a customized training course on ISO 19011:2018 on August 22-25. Then, the DAP will conduct a follow-up activity on performing internal audit process in September this year. 

“This is a valuable input for our internal revalidation of our conformance to international quality standards, and in evaluating how far we are in sustaining our efforts for continual improvement,” expressed President Agrupis. She also thanked the DAP for selecting the university as beneficiary of the training program for the second time.

DAP Senior VP De Armas affirmed the agency’s commitment to help MMSU achieve excellent service delivery to its stakeholders. “We look forward to stronger and more meaningful collaboration with you as we continuously embark on improving public sector performance,” she added. (HLY/JVBT/DPT, StratCom)