The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) and the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) signed a memorandum of agreement for the formulation of a quality management system (QMS) on PDIC’s claims settlement operations to conform with ISO standards and better serve the depositing public. PDIC President Jose C. Nograles said that this is among the measures being undertaken by the deposit insurer to attain its vision of becoming a world-class organization in depositor protection.

The establishment of an International Standard Organization – Quality Management System (ISO-QMS) will align PDIC’s existing management system relative to claims processing to ISO 9001:2008 standards. The area of claims settlement operations will be the pilot process for the installation of the ISO-QMS. “We hope to replicate the system in other processes and services of PDIC,” Nograles added.

The ISO 9001:2008 is an internationally-recognized standard which specifies requirements for a QMS where an organization regardless of type needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and other applicable requirements. It also aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable requirements.

The DAP, one of the lead agencies that spearheads the promotion of QMS in the government, will provide the technical guidance in documenting and revising procedures and documents required in the development and maintenance of the ISO-QMS.

The PDIC President earlier ordered the review of the Corporation’s existing systems and processes relative to claims operations. He said that the unprecedented spate of closures in December 2008 of 12 Legacy-affiliated banks prompted the PDIC to undertake a review and simplification of its processes. “Admittedly, our claims systems and processes were not structured to cope with the voluminous number of accounts involved in the almost simultaneous closures of the 12 Legacy banks. No closures in past years since PDIC’s inception in 1963 had ever approached the breath and depth of these closures, which are unparalleled in Philippine banking history,” Nograles said.

PDIC initially engaged the services of top-notch consultant Prof. Ronaldo Polancos of the De La Salle University College of Industrial Engineering to undertake a business process review of claims-related processes as well as simplification of the claim form and required documents. Prior to this, internationally-affiliated audit firms were hired to speed up examination of accounts in the 12 Legacy-affiliated banks, whose number of accounts total to about 135,000 estimated at P14 billion. Nograles said that PDIC continues to seek various measures to enhance delivery of services to its various stakeholders.