Central Luzon Organizations Take Part in PQA/ PQC Learning Session

Government and private organizations from Central Luzon gathered for a Learning Session on the Philippine Quality Awards (PQA) and Philippine Quality Challenge (PQC) held on March 22, 2017 at the Subic Bay Venezia Hotel, Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Zambales.

With the theme, ‘Attaining Performance Excellence through Improving Operational Capabilities in the 21st Century,’ the activity focused on leadership trends such as innovation, learning and agility, and delivering value and results. The learning session aimed to orient the participants on the PQA and PQC programs and provide insights on how a company can be competitive and level up their performance comparable to those of world-class firms.

PQA is a program created through Executive Order 448 and institutionalized through Republic Act 9013 or the Philippine Quality Award Act. The program is a global competitiveness template aimed to encourage public and private organizations to strive for performance excellence. It serves as a template for competitiveness based on the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) and the award is the local version of the US’ Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The PQA is chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). DTI, being the steering and policy-making body created under the Philippine Council for Productivity by virtue of EO 448, is also the award manager, with the Philippine Society for Quality, Inc. as the Award Administrator for the Private Sector.

The PQC, on the other hand, is a self-assessment, consultancy service and recognition program aimed at encouraging various organizations in the country, especially SMEs and local government units (LGUs), in starting their pursuit to organizational improvement and performance excellence following the framework of the PQA program.

With performance excellence at the program’s core, the DTI Competitive Bureau (CB) invited Dr. Bernardo Redoña, Senior Manager of Quality and Reliability Engineering Department of STMicroelectronics (STMI), who shared the PQA framework adopted by their organization in achieving quality proficiency. STMI is a Laguna-based packaging and test plant which supplies high-volume silicon solutions worldwide. It became a PQA recipient in 2015, thereby receiving the highest recognition that a Philippine organization can be awarded for overall organizational performance excellence.

Participating in the event were 121 attendees coming from both the private and government sectors, from SMEs to LGUs from all over the region. The program was opened by DTI Zambales Provincial Director Leonila Baluyut who encouraged the companies in the region to undergo the PQA process to improve their businesses’ organizational performance.

With DTI’s thrust anchored on inclusive growth that would generate more income opportunities through business and investments, organizational improvement and performance excellence are good contributors to the economy’s growth and improvement in the quality of life of the Filipinos.