With a commitment to excellence, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) kicked off its ISO 9001:2015 Stage 2 Audit Certification on Wednesday, November 27, 2024. This three-day assessment represents a key step in PCA’s ongoing mission to uphold excellence in quality management and service delivery, following the successful completion of the initial audit phase last October 17, 2024.

The audit is being conducted by TÜV SÜD, a globally recognized certification organization in Quality Management System (QMS) certification. The team led by seasoned auditors Erwin F. Quinto and Anna Theresa Manlangit, is scrutinizing PCA’s compliance with the stringent standards set forth by ISO 9001:2015.

ISO 9001:2015, established by the International Organization for Standardization, is a globally recognized framework for implementing effective quality management systems. This framework aims to enhance customer satisfaction, streamline organizational processes, and drive continuous improvement.

Administrator Dexter R. Buted underscored the transformative significance of the certification process, saying, "𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑂𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑔𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝐼𝑆𝑂 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. 𝐼𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒, 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑧𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑢𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒."

As the PCA seeks ISO 9001:2015 certification, it envisions a brighter future for coconut farmers and their families by demonstrating a commitment to exceptional service and customer satisfaction.

The PCA chief also challenged PCA personnel to actively contribute to the organization’s pursuit of excellence. "𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑆𝑂 9001:2015 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒, 𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑝𝑡, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑒. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜, 𝐼 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑒, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑢𝑑𝑖𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠, 𝑏𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑧𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,” he said.

Scheduled to conclude on November 29, 2024, the Stage 2 Audit seeks to validate PCA’s adherence to ISO 9001:2015 standards signaling a steadfast commitment to quality, its true purpose reflects to empower farmers, enhance livelihoods, and support sustainable development for coconut-growing communities nationwide.