Public Attorneys Office(PAO)

5 March 2020 Dear Mark Glenn Villanueva, Greetings! Thank you for your request dated 28 February 2020 1:05 PM under Executive Order No. 2 (s. 2016) on Freedom of Information in the Executive Branch. Your Request You asked for information on PAO's ISO Certification Response to Request Your FOI request is approved. The answers to your queries are as follows: 1. Since when has your agency become an ISO Certified? The PAO secured initial ISO 9001:2015 Certification on 27 December 2018 2. How does it benefit your employees? Undergoing ISO accreditation benefited the PAO's employees by providing a uniform and clear-cut procedure/process to follow, improving workflow, eliminating redundancies, enhancing work and merit accountability, and encouraging greater employee engagement/participation in the planning and implementation of the work processes. 3. How does it change the work quality of your employees and your organization as a whole? Through ISO accreditation, the PAO was able to function more efficiently and effectively resulting in an increase in the quality of the legal services rendered by the employees and the office as a whole. 4. What are the advantages & disadvantages of being an ISO Certified agency? The advantages are the same as with the answer in Q#2 because the same benefits/advantages redound to the PAO as an institution. The disadvantages would be the cost, time and dedication required for the initial and continued accreditation, and for the system to work. 5. How do you maintain the quality standard under ISO? By reporting, analyzing and addressing non-conforming outputs and areas of concern/improvement, giving due recognition to good practices, and conducting periodic internal audit and review of the documented processes. The PAO's ISO Certification is accessible from the Transparency Seal page of our website. Here's the link: http://www.pao.gov.ph/page.php?id=217 Your right to request a review If you are unhappy with this response to your FOI request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response by writing to the Honorable Chief Public Attorney Dr. Persida V. Rueda-Acosta, DSD at 5th Floor, DOJ Agencies Building, NIA Road corner East Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made within 15 calendar days from the date when you received this letter. We will complete the review and tell you the result within 30 calendar days from the date when we receive your review request. If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Office of the President under Administrative Order No. 22 (s. 2011). Thank you. Respectfully, PAO-FOSS-DM PAO