DoT passes ISO, COA audits anew

The Department of Tourism has once again secured an ISO certification for Quality Management Systems and an unmodified opinion from the Commission on Audit, proving that it is not resting on its laurels to continue uplifting the country’s tourism industry.

The DoT, in a statement on Friday, said they passed the ISO 9001:2015 certification, now in its seventh year.

Under Executive Order No. 605, series 2007, all departments and agencies of the Executive Branch, including all government-owned and/or controlled corporations and government financial institutions, are directed to adopt the ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management Systems as part of the implementation of a government-wide quality management program.

The DoT first earned the highly regarded certification in 2018, followed by successful third-party surveillance audits in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, the DoT passed its re-certification audit, further maintaining its high standards of service.

By 2022 and 2023, also the beginning years under the helm of Secretary Frasco, the DoT retained its certification, passing two more surveillance audits without any non-conformities.

The DoT QMS Third-Party Re-Certification Audit was conducted on 11 and 12 September 2024 by PT AJA Sertifikasi Indonesia-Philippine Representative Office, an ISO certification body.

The DoT said that yearly the department needs to undergo the QMS third-party audit to assess the compliance with the requirements of the ISO 9001:2015 standards and determine the qualification for the ISO re-certification of the DOT’s current scope and coverage, which includes issuance of accreditation of tourism enterprises, enforcement of rules and regulation of tourism enterprises; and industry manpower training and development services.

“As this process of third-party recertification concludes, we are filled with a deep sense of relief, for one, but also optimism that with the right standards in place, the exercise of our functions is not only to the minimum level of compliance but rather to always exceed that which is expected of us, which is to deliver performance in terms of tourism for the country,” said Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco during the closing ceremony of the auditing process held at the DoT Central Office in Makati City on Thursday.

“And so, achieving and maintaining our ISO certification is not just a milestone for the Department of Tourism, but our commitment to serving with excellence,” she added.

Unmodified Opinion

Meanwhile, the DoT also obtained COA’s nod for another year of "Unmodified Opinion" on its fiscal year 2023 financial statements.

The rating is given by an auditor when the financial statements of the audited entity are reported fairly and correctly, in all material aspects without qualifications and exceptions, after being subjected to scrutiny under International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions.

The DoT also earned the same rating from state auditors in fiscal years 2022, 2020, 2019, and 2009.