IN aims global, pushes for ISO-certified municipalities

By Leilanie G. Adriano

Staff Reporter

Aiming to be globally competitive, the Ilocos Norte government is pushing for all municipalities here to be certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

On November 5 during a meeting with the league of municipalities (LMP) here, Sarrat mayor Edito Alberto Balintona said the LMP fully supports the move for the ISO accreditation.

Initiated by the Ilocos Norte government under the administration of Ilocos Norte Governor Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos, the country’s first local government unit to make all its offices ISO-compliant on February 1, 2013, it aims to attract more local and foreign investors here.

“One way of doing so is to ensure better government services and faster processing of documents by highly-competitive government workers passing a set of ISO accreditation,” said Balintona.

Once ISO-certified, Balintona added investors will be assured of quality services the government can offer to them based on transparency and efficiency of LGU’s governance.

“The funding needed for ISO accreditation is not so much of a burden compared to its numerous benefits,” said Balintona. However, municipal employees particularly those rank and file need to undergo examination to ensure they are highly competent and deserving for the job.

The Ilocos Norte government is also helping out LGU’s in terms of funding for the ISO application through a sharing scheme. For example, LGUs classified as first class municipalities shall have 70-30 sharing, third class 60-40 and third class is 50-50 while the fourth and fifth class municipalities shall have 100 percent financial support from the provincial government.

The PGIN’s ISO 9001: 2008 seal was given following an evaluation made by the ISO-certifying auditing team from TÜV NORD Philippines on the technological document transaction tracking system, the renovation of government buildings including the provincial jail and other practices.

The ISO certification process in the province started last September 25, 2012 when all the provincial office heads and employees underwent orientation and training under MacroVision Consultancy, a Philippine-based group offering management systems training related to ISO.

ISO is an acronym for “International Organization for Standardization” derived from the Greek word “isos”, meaning “equal.” It is a body that oversees service procedures and gives state of the art specifications for products, services and good practice, helping to make industry more efficient and effective.

Comments

Free dormitories eyed for Nueva Era students in LC, Batac

Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Nueva Era , Ilocos Norte—The municipal government here, headed by Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida is planning to establish dormitories in the cities of Laoag and Batac that will exclusively cater to college students from the said cities. “Sapay la kuma ta maituloyen iti mabiit tay ar-arapaapen tayo ken iti munisipyo a maipatakderan kuma dagiti annak tayo a college students nga agbasbasa idiay siyudad iti Batac ken Laoag iti libre a dormitoryo a bukod da ngem inggana nga awan pay ket an-anusan mi paylaeng nga ibaklay kenni apo bise mayor iti pagbayad da iti kasera aggapu iti bukod mi a suweldo malaksid dagitay it-ited iti munisipyo ken iti barangay nga stipend da kada semester, ” Garvida said. Garvida added that the proposed establishment of dormitories would be a big help to the students’ parents as this would shoulder the expenses of their children for rent and likewise they would feel more secured

Empanada festival: A celebration of good taste and good life

By Dominic B. dela Cruz & Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporters BATAC CITY—If there is one thing Batac is truly proud of, it would be its famous empanada-making business that has nurtured its people over the years. Embracing a century-old culture and culinary tradition, Batac’s empanada claims to be the best and tastiest in the country with its distinctive Ilokano taste courtesy of its local ingredients: fresh grated papaya, mongo, chopped longganisa, and egg. The crispy orange wrapper and is made of rice flour that is deep-fried. The celebration of this city’s famous traditional fast food attracting locals and tourists elsewhere comes with the City Charter Day of Batac every 23 rd of June. Every year, the City Government of Batac led by Mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta commemorate the city’s charter day celebration to further promote its famous One-Town, One Product, the Batac empanada. Empanada City The Batac empanada festival has already become an annua

P29 per kilo rice sold to vulnerable groups in Ilocos region

BBM RICE. Residents buy rice for only PHP29 per kilo at the NIA compound in San Nicolas town, Ilocos Norte province on Sept. 13, 2024. The activity was under a nationwide pilot program of the government to sell quality and affordable rice initially to the vulnerable sectors. (Lei Adriano) San Nicolas , Ilocos Norte —Senior citizens, persons with disability, and solo parents availed of cheap rice sold at PHP29 per kilogram during the grand launching of the Bagong Bayaning Magsasaka (BBM) Rice held at the National Irrigation Administration compound in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte province on Sept. 13, 2024. “ Maraming salamat Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa inyong pagmamahal sa Region 1 lalong-lalo na sa bayan namin sa San Nicolas,” said Violeta Pasion, a resident Brgy. 18 Bingao in this town. The low-priced grains were sourced from the National Irrigation Administration’s (NIA) contract farming with irrigators' association members in the province. Along with Pasion, Epi

The Ilocos Times

Search This Blog