PSU first SUC to receive PQA Level III

 By  VENUS MAY H. SARMIENTO

LINGAYEN- The Pangasinan State University (PSU) was conferred the  Philippine Quality Award (PQA) Level III (Mastery in Quality Management)  recognition on Friday, October 22, making it the first state university and college (SUC) to receive such award.

 Director Lilian Salonga of the Competitiveness Bureau of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) who served as the guest  speaker  of the event, said the PQA is the highest level of national recognition  for exemplary organizational  performance whether it be  in the private or  public sectors.

Salonga said during the conferment ceremony  held at the university’s main campus. that receiving the award means PSU “demonstrated superior achievement  and delivered superior results, truly commendable and noteworthy.”

“The seal of excellence is awarded to the best of the best,  and that’s what you are,” Salonga told the PSU community.

She added that the  achievement underlines the efforts  and dedication of the management for creating a culture of quality and perseverance to provide quality service to stakeholders.

In his acceptance speech, PSU President Dexter R. Buted said the PQA journey almost seemed like an impossible dream,  but the failures and hardships encountered made PSU an  organization that values excellence  striving to be better and focusing on delivering quality outputs.

“ Quality is never an accident. It is the result of concerted effort. After all the sacrifices.  ngayon nagbunga ang lahat nating pinagpaguran. No matter how hopeless, gaano man kabigat, lahat napagtagumpayan sapagkat tayo’y nagtulungan, walang nag-iwanan, lahat nag-ambagan,” Dr. Buted said.

The university president went on to say that in all the endeavours whether it be the bid for International Organisation for   Standardization (ISO),  Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management  (PRIME-HRM) or the PQA, PSU optimizes its resources  to ensure integrity and transparency of work and adhere to the highest standard of professionalism to effectively improve the  quality of systems and processes.

“It is always about risk-taking when it comes to leadership decision-making. If we do not stick our heads and feet like the turtle, we are safe but we cannot go very far either.  Safe but unaccomplished and locked-up in   our traditional way of delivering service. What we need is the political will to transform the university. Patuloy akong lalaban para sa inyo,” Buted said. 

He added that PSU will continually invest in various areas of excellence  so that every employee will be competitive and  every graduate they  produce will live up to quality standards.

The conferment led by  DTI was attended by various stakeholders physically and virtually. Formal conferment of the award will be led by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in Malacanang on November 25.

PQA was established through Executive Order No. 448 in 1997  and provides an internationally comparable framework and criteria for assessing prganizational performance. It is a template for competitiveness based on the principles of Total Quality Management. The criteria for Performance Excellence consists of seven categories namely – leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, measurement analysis and knowledge management, workforce focus, operations focus and results. (VHS/PIA Pangasinan)