The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) aims to have all its ports earn ISO certification in vessel entrance clearance before the end of 2017 in a bid to enhance efficiency and service to port users.
PPA executives and officials on October 14 signed a declaration of commitment to develop a quality management system (QMS) and implement it at its head office and at 16 port management offices (PMOs) that are still not ISO certified, a step toward obtaining the certification before the end of next year. Of the agency’s 26 PMOs, 10 have been ISO certified since in 2014 when PPA launched its program on QMS in vessel entrance clearance.
PPA assistant general manager for operations Hector Miole said on the sidelines of the declaration that the agency is “mandated by regulation and by law to achieve ISO certification in our processes.”
He said that by implementing QMS and acquiring ISO certification, “we should be able to deliver better services and efficiency for our port users.” The target is to simplify processes and implement a standard and uniform procedure for vessel clearance entrance across all PMOs, he added.
Miole explained that of all the port services offered by the agency, it chose to start with vessel entrance clearance because ships are the ports’ main customer.
Once all ports are ISO certified in vessel entrance clearance, Miole said pursuing certification for other PPA services will be easier.
