Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Alexander Balutan on Monday said that the agency has been awarded with the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System certification that is focused on leadership, risk-based thinking, and context of the organization.

“ISO 9001 is the title of an ISO standard that outlines the requirements an organization must maintain in its quality system. ISO 9001:2015 is the current version of the standard. It helps agencies or companies meet their customers’ requirements for our products/services while fulfilling regulatory requirements,” said Balutan.

The PCSO was certified under the ISO 9001-2008 Quality Management System Certification by third-party auditor TUV Rheinland Philippines in December 2016 for the conduct and management of the online lottery draws and processing of prize claims amounting to P5,000 and above and support processes. For the past three years, PCSO has maintained its certification.

“ISO certification gives confidence to our public that they have equal chances of winning and that we have strict implementation when it comes to our draw procedures. It also gives us the chance to be at par with other gaming counterparts all over the world,” Balutan added.

Aimee C. De Viterbo, officer-in-charge on Gaming Technology Department of PCSO, explained that the ISO mandates every organization to transition from the 2008 to the 2015 version of the standard to make its processes relevant and compliant with the requirements of the new version of the standard.

In order for the PCSO to be compliant with the new thrust of the standard, PCSO included the Process of the Medical Services Department (MSD) – Out Patient Medical Services as part of its core processes.

“As we endeavor to comply with the requirements of the standard, we had to improve our core and support processes. It is the requirement of the standard that each organization certified under the QMS to continuously improve,” said De Viterbo.