As part of its commitment to maintain its QMS, the Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) underwent and passed its second surveillance audit on December 11, 2019 conducted by TUV Rheinland Philippines (TUV) in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 9001: 2015 standards in 2016.

The ECC first received its ISO 9001: 2008 Certification for its Quality Management System (QMS) in 2014 which was still valid until 2016. The ECC upgraded to ISO 9001: 2015 in 2016.

In an official report released by TUV, it commended ECC’s awards and recognitions in 2019 such as the Continuous Improvement Award from the ASEAN Social Security Association, Most Outstanding Accounting Office Award for CY 2018 from the Association of the Government’s Accountants of the Philippines, Stakeholder Awardee given by the Philippine National Police Finance Service during their 79th Founding Anniversary, and a Plaque of Appreciation from the Philippine Information Agency in forging partnership aimed at communicating ECC’s programs and ensure an informed and empowered citizenry.

TUV also noted ECC’s very satisfactory performance rating from the Department of Labor and Employment in 2018 for the Office Performance Commitment and Review. It also credited the 87.3% awareness rating on the Employees’ Compensation Program based on the 2018 Occupational Wages Survey and the Integrated Survey on Labor and Employment conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

ECC Internal Audit Team Leader and Appeals Division Chief Atty. E. Patrice Jamaine T. Barron said, “The positive audit result goes to show that ECC takes its commitment seriously to remain compliant with the standards of the established Quality Management System. And, we are doing the best as an organization to maintain the certification as we are readying for the next re-certification audit.”

Likewise, ECC Executive Director Stella Zipagan-Banawis shared “We are more driven now that we were able to maintain the ISO certification. This means that a quality management system is effectively implemented and maintained at ECC.”

“All the efforts and hard work of ECC employees have paid off,” added Banawis.

ECC is gearing up for the next audit on November 11, 2020 to maintain the certification of the established quality management system to ISO 9001: 2015.

Reporting by Carlo A. Katigbak