Good afternoon to all. First, please accept my heartfelt congratulations to my colleagues in the Department of Trade and Industry on the 25th anniversary of the Philippine Quality Award (PQA) Program.
Many years ago, I’ve sat as a chair with the board of judges of PQA. Thanks also to our distinguished guests and partners for joining us in celebrating PQA’s silver anniversary.
Most of us are here physically, I think there are also those attending virtually.
PQA has proven to be more than just an award or recognition, having established itself as the highest level of national recognition for exemplary organizational performance.
PQA has fostered a culture of excellence among organizations in the Philippines, both in public and private sectors, as mentioned earlier with its internationally comparable framework and criteria for assessing organizational performance.
Since its creation 25 years ago, we have conferred 109 Recognitions and two Philippine Quality Awards for Performance Excellence. We hope these have motivated and encouraged our country’s economic actors to strive for maximum productivity and quality.
Patterned after the U.S. Malcolm Baldrige, PQA seeks to promote quality and recognize excellence in Philippine organizations. The award, which bears the presidential seal and logo, is the country’s presidential honor for quality performance.1
PQA was established at a time when the country was preparing to transition into a newly industrialized economy, and was still navigating its way into a globalizing world.
PQA, as we have been told, became a full-fledged law eventually. Now, from being national, we have done regional.
Between giving awards, PQA develops projects and activities that advance performance excellence and promote a quality-nurturing environment. One such project is the publication of a criteria handbook for the academe, government, and small and medium businesses.
Likewise, as an Implementing Agency, the Department of Trade and Industry entered into partnerships with other organizations to bolster our advocacy for quality.
We have promoted the adoption of PQA in academic institutions and government as well as government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs). We have partnered with the Commission on Higher Education and the Governance Commission on GOCCs in pursuing institutional development using PQA Framework and Criteria. The PQA Framework promotes not just quality results, but also innovation.
We at the DTI are pursuing an industrialization strategy, I’ve talked about this in number of for a soon after I took over as the Secretary of this Department. This strategy is driven by science, technology, and innovation. We invite the private sector to work with us to optimize the opportunities brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution to transform their respective organizations. We are creating two innovation hubs that will help us further promote quality performance in our business organizations, particularly among the Small and Medium-sized enterprises. These are the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Research (CAIR) and the Industry 4.0 Pilot Factory. These will be done as a public-private partnership. We’ll have to work together—government and the private sector to make this happen and to further promote and push industrialization in our country, based on science, technology, and innovation. We encourage organizations and companies to help grow our economy by developing globally competitive and innovative industries. We become globally competitive and achieve high quality of life for our people by producing quality goods and services.
Further, we want these benefits to cascade to our regions. Hence, the regionalization of PQA that has been discussed earlier by Undersecretary Bles Lantayona. Using a simplified process of Quality Management System based on the PQA Framework, organizations from the regions can receive Levels 1 and 2 recognitions.
With PQA Regionalization, we expect SMEs to grow into competitive and future-ready organizations. What we want to happen is to see small enterprises graduate into medium-sized enterprises and medium-sized enterprises to graduate into large enterprises. As we cultivate competitiveness and innovation among SMEs and organizations in the regions, we hope to develop a community of quality organizations at par with global standards.
This anniversary marks a significant moment in the lives of all the individuals and organizations that contributed to the success of PQA.
We dedicate today’s anniversary celebration to all of you who have supported and have continued to support us in this Award. Your consistent efforts over the past 25 years have helped the PQA lead organizations and companies in their journey to performance excellence. To you, champions of quality, I take the opportunity to extend my deepest gratitude.
Know that your sacrifices, your efforts to bring economic advantages to the nation are deeply appreciated, especially in these challenging times. There has been an unprecedented disruption experienced globally when shifts in geopolitical developments happen but PQA, with its stakeholders rallying behind it, pursues the embedding of a culture of quality in the Philippines and in the enterprises operating in the country to achieve sustainable development for all.
Naniniwala akong kahit sa gitna ng pandemya at sa gulong nangyayari ngayon, ang focus ay hindi lang dapat sa recovery response kundi maging sa pagpapatuloy ng mga inisyatiba upang makamit ang kalidad sa bawat organisasyon. Hindi puwede ang “puwede na” dahil ang Pilipinas ay hindi basta basta.
So, rest assured that the government will continue working with you on pushing for long-term growth. We aim to ensure a favorable business environment and encourage productivity-enhancing innovation in different industries in the country.
We rely on the private sector to drive economic development and the government will be there to help provide enabling conditions.
“Together, Let’s Make It Happen!” Let’s continue to make the Philippines the standard for world-class excellence.
Thank you, and good afternoon to all.
1 https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1997/10/03/executive-order-no-448-s-1997/
♦Date of Release: 13 October 2022
