TUV Rheinland lauded FPA during surveillance audit (ISO 9001:2015)

Written by Mirasol Bacarisas and Angelo Bugarin  l  Published: 25 August 2022

QUEZON CITY | August 25, 2022 - The Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority maintained its ISO 9001:2015 QMS Certification as a result of the surveillance audit on August 16, 2022.

The certifying body, TUV Rheinland Philippines, Inc., conducted the onsite assessment at the FPA Central Office in Quezon City.

The scope of certification covers the provision of services for issuing licenses, registration, and permits on fertilizer, pesticide, and other agricultural chemicals. For this surveillance visit, processes of the FPA Top Management, Internal Quality Audit (IQA) Team, Pesticide Regulations Division (PRD), Fertilizer Regulations Division (FRD), Human Resource Section (HRS), Laboratory Services Division (LSD), and Planning, Management, and Information Division (PMID).

During the closing meeting, the audit team leader Ms. Rhene Rose Zara, together with co-auditor Mr. Hilario Capili, commended the Agency’s efforts to continually improve its system and processes by citing four (4) positive findings and four (4) opportunities for improvement. Overall, no nonconformities were raised either with minor nor major.

“We want to extend our appreciation and gratitude to all our hard-working employees who made this possible and to our valued stakeholders for their constant support,” Dr. Mula said.

With the continuation of certification, the agency is again recognized by the standard-setting body for its commitment to providing customers with the highest level of products and services within the organization's policy and objectives.

The initial ISO 9001:2015 recognition was achieved in October 2018, covering one core function: issuing licenses, registrations, and permits on fertilizer through the Fertilizer Regulations Division (FRD). This was successfully maintained and expanded the scope of its ISO 9001:2015 recertification after passing the remote assessment by the certifying body last October 2021.

Quality Management System Committee (QMSC) Chairperson and Officer-in-Charge, Dr. Myer G. Mula, headed the FPA Management Team with Deputy Executive Director for Pesticide, Mr. Eric C. Divinagracia, Divisions Chiefs, and QMSC Secretariat. ###