Category: Service Quality

Organization

City of Government Bacoor, Cavite

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Leadership, Citizens / Customers, Operations

Year Implemented

March 2020 onwards (during the COVID-19 pandemic)

This is a GBPR Entry

Summary

The City of Bacoor responded decisively by addressing the concerns and plights of Returning Overseas Filipinos (OFWs) as early as 18 March 2020. Through the leadership of Bacoor City former Mayor Lani Mercado Revilla, the Bacoor Public Employment Service Office (PESO), which also manages the OFW Help Desk Office, under the supervision of Dr. Abraham Domingo De Castro, implemented the “The PESO-OFW Help Desk Profiling, Monitoring, and Facilitation Program of the City Government of Bacoor in the time of the Global COVID-19 Pandemic” to answer the felt needs of the City of Bacoor. This program is a special add-on to the regular activity being performed and spearheaded by the Bacoor PESO Department and OFW Help Desk Office of the City to all its constituents.

Background and Problem

In a recent survey by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on the number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) abroad, CALABARZON was mentioned as one of the regions with the highest number of OFWs at 20.7%. The province of Cavite, particularly the City of Bacoor, shares the same finding regarding OFWs, as shown by the fact that the City of Bacoor has gone through great lengths to establish a one-stop shop government service to cater to the needs of OFWs and a satellite office of OWWA. The normal operation of the Bacoor PESO, which supervises and manages the OFW-HD since its conception, has always been in place to proactively cater to the concerns of the local labor force, looking for employment and facilitation of documents and claims of OFWs. The Bacoor OFW Help Desk at the Bacoor City Government Center has paid much attention to the needs of the country’s proclaimed “modern-day heroes” ever since.

Normally, the PESO-OFW HD Office processes documents and inquiries of OFWs who come to the office to avail of services from partner national agencies. However, due to the pandemic, it is imperative that the Bacoor PESO strictly profiles and judiciously monitors returning Bacooreños, not only for their safety and benefit but also in consideration of their receiving barangays. The profiling of the arriving OFWs started immediately after identifying the checkpoints for arriving OFWs in Longos, Talaba, and Molino Daang Hari Road after the first meeting of the Bacoor COVID-19 Task Force last 17 March 2020.

Solution and Impact

“The PESO-OFW Help Desk Profiling, Monitoring, and Facilitation Program of the City Government of Bacoor in the time of the Global COVID-19 Pandemic” highlights the huge impact of ensuring the safety of returning OFWs and the local labor force as well as the needs of their families by rallying all significant departments in the City to act and heal as one, through collaboration and inclusivity to address the concerns brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic on top of the delivery of basic services already in place. The program was able to identify, profile, and monitor returning OFWs in the city, connect them to agencies that can extend help during the pandemic through the designated helpline, and provide needed employment.

The program successfully profiled and clustered 631 returning Bacooreño OFWs in the 73 barangays of Bacoor and has been monitored by different government agencies that answered their needs. Some returning OFWs availed of the free health quarantine facility, OFW helplines, and available job opportunities. Reports of profiled returning Bacooreño OFWs were also endorsed to the BDRRMO and CHO for follow-up and health monitoring in coordination with the BHERT. Close collaboration with the OWWA and DOLE was also highlighted.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the City Government of Bacoor and PESO entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with FoodPanda Philippines, Inc. and JoyRide/Happy Move Company to help answer the needs of the city on employment and food delivery. The program provided work to almost 300 displaced Bacooreño tricycle drivers, ordinary workers, and interested OFWs and answered the need for food delivery in the city due to the pandemic. DOLE Region 4A commended the program for its “out of the box ideas in delivering enhanced and improved employment service suitable for the current situation,” saying that “these services are needed more than ever, especially now that many members of our labor force are affected due to the stringent community quarantine.”

Milestones/Next Steps

Very recently, in June 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, DOLE CALABARZON Regional Director Henry John S. Jalbuena expressed his utmost commendations to the Bacoor PESO Manager and Local Chief Executive for their out-of-the-box ideas in delivering enhanced and improved employment service suitable for the current situation. “We are in awe of the brilliant men and women of PESOs in the Calabarzon Region for their creativity and innovations for the continuous delivery of employment services amid the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. These services are needed more than ever, especially now that many members of our labor force are affected due to the stringent community quarantine.”

Some of the innovations that emerged in the Region are the partnership of Bacoor with the food delivery service app FoodPanda, JoyRide, and HappyMove, which benefitted displaced tricycle drivers, ordinary laborers, and some OFWs.

To date, the program was also able to profile and assist 631 returning OFWs during the COVID-19 pandemic, answer their concerns, and provide employment assistance to those in need.

Organization

City Government of San Fernando, La Union

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Strategy; Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management; Operations:

Year Implemented

2009 to present

This is a GBPR entry

Summary

The Document Tracking System (DTS) aims to track and capture the responsiveness of the city government in its communications and financial process dealings using barcode solutions. Moreover, the application has features such as providing clients temporary access accounts to monitor the status of their requests and a dashboard containing performance indicators like “completed,” “ongoing,” and “delinquent.” This dashboard also connects to a system of rewards and incentives for employees.

The results of the project suggest that personnel productivity has improved from satisfactory to very satisfactory. Moreover, there has also been a significant decrease in the processing time per transaction and instilled discipline and standards in the institution.

Background and Problem

Documents, whether electronic or paper, are an essential component of any institution. However, the manual and paper-based processing, filing, and tracking of documents can be complicated, especially when there are multiple receiving channels. The manual filing of documents is also time-consuming, wherein each office organizes, stores, and maintains its files. It can also be hard to track down the location of documents if no document trail or recording is available to validate their whereabouts. Overall, the productivity of employees and departments is slowed down by having to spend a great deal of time dealing with a paper filing system.

And especially for the City Government of San Fernando, La Union, turnaround time is long against the standard processing time under Republic Act 9485. A case in point is the city government’s processing time of purchase requests; it is classified under simple transactions and yet it takes almost two (2) weeks to run the whole course.

Another limitation of the manual filing of documents is that the management of offices will also have no basis to validate submitted performance reports due to the absence of an accurate performance recording system. Moreover, given the manual nature of the process, external clients are not usually updated about the status of their transactions with the city government; clients would still need to call or visit the relevant departments to follow up on their concerns.

Solution and Impact

In compliance with Republic Act 9485, known as The Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, the City Government of San Fernando established the Document Tracking System (DTS) in 2009 to institute transparency in administrative affairs and resource management, as well as improve business transactions within the City Government.

The DTS is an in-house, end-to-end application for processing and tracking documents with central electronic archives. The application captures the real-time status updates of transactions. It can capture a document’s historical processing timeline, including time and date of receipt or release, persons in charge, and time spent processing documents in a particular office. It also has an email notification feature that provides a temporary access account for clients to check the real-time progress report of their requests online or transactions with the city government, enabling them to save time and money.

As a supplement to the DTS, the city also established a central receiving station under the Office of the City Administrator to manage all incoming and outgoing documents. It is responsible for capturing document profiles, managing electronic archives, and forwarding emails to external clients.

The results evidenced by the customer feedback indicators of the city suggest that personnel productivity has improved from satisfactory to very satisfactory. There is also a significant decrease in the processing time per transaction and instilled discipline and standards in the institution.

Milestones/Next Steps

The implementation of the DTS Project was covered by an Executive Order and registered under the Integrated Management System (ISO 9001:2008) in 2010. Moreover, the project is a recipient of the 2013 eGov Awards for LGUs for the “Best in eGovernance Customer Empowerment” Category by the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). And in 2014, the World eGovernment Organization awarded the same project as the Most Promising eGov Prize for Efficiency during the 2nd WeGO Awards in Chengdu, China.

The city government was also invited to present the project in several national ICT forums and this led to numerous benchmarking activities by other LGUs and NGAs in the City of San Fernando to improve their document management. Notably, four institutions replicated the program, including the Municipality of Bacnotan in 2018, Zamboanga City through the Zamboanga ICT Council in 2019, the Provincial Government of Benguet in 2019, and the Department of Trade and Industry Regional Office I in 2020. Moreover, the Municipality of Naguilian, the City of Borongan in Samar, and the Ilocos Training and Medical Center have recently submitted their letter of intent to enter into a memorandum of agreement with the city to replicate the same.

Organization

Department of Budget Management Regional Office V

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Strategy; Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management; Operations

Year Implemented

14 October 2020

This is GBPR Entry

Summary

iPAMS, known as Internet-based Project Accomplishment Monitoring System, is an innovative application package composed of integrated systems such as iPAMS Site, iPAMS SUC (State Universities and Colleges), iPAMS DBM, and iPAMS Protocol. iPAMS Protocol is the highlighted feature of this entry for the Government Best Practice Recognition (GBPR) COVID-19. The project was initiated and funded by the Department of Budget Management Regional Office V and developed by Camarines Norte State College’s Institutional Planning and Development Office through a collaboration agreement forged on January 31, 2020, during the initial onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background and Problem

COVID-19 hinders the DBM Regional Office from conducting a face-to-face evaluation and actual site visit because of the protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) protocols, not to mention travel requirements and potential quarantine. The spread of the virus is deemed high in areas where people constantly interact, particularly the construction sites. With iPAMS, project engineers are now required to observe health protocols as part of their inspection activities. On this premise, they should implement stringent monitoring as construction workers enter the campus premises.

While State Universities and Colleges have their own rules on the COVID-19 Protocols, such policies may not have been cascaded to the construction workers working inside the campuses. Or even if cascading is done, SUCs may not have a way to monitor their compliance.

Solution and Impact

The iPAMS Site is an android application using a cell phone in the inspection activities by the field project engineers or authorized inspectors; it has two attached features–the iPAMS Budgeting, which provides access to the budget and accounting in the preparation of the needed financial and accounting reports and the iPAMS Protocol which provides a checklist of items to monitor compliance with Environment Health and Safety (EHS) and COVID-19 Protocols

• iPAMS SUC, which is the desktop partner of the android system that consolidates the inspection conducted by a certain SUC
• iPAMS DBM, a platform that monitors the performance of all nine (9) SUCs in the Bicol Region, consolidates the SUC’s respective accomplishments in an almost real-time mode.

As part of the project monitoring and evaluation, the Department of Budget and Management conducts onsite visitations to projects quarterly, semi-annually, and annually. Having nine (9) SUCs (with two island provinces) which are geographically apart from each other, actual field inspection is not only time-consuming but also disruptive on the parts of the DRM regional staff, considering that all of them in Division A will have to take at least 3-day office work break per SUC (weeklong is the inspection in Catanduanes and Masbate). This means that they will spend at least 108 days for quarterly monitoring for the 9 SUCs, 54 days semi-annually, and 27 days for annual SUC visitation, for 189 days to perform complete monitoring of projects funded under the GAA (79% of the total working days for a year).

The initial result of the Technology Acceptance Survey showed that: iPAMS makes the conduct of inspection more convenient: 27.3% strongly agree, 36.4% agree, and 36.4% somewhat agree; iPAMS helps in preparing inspection reports much easier than without it like before: 27.3% strongly agree, 54.5% agree, and 18.2% somewhat agree; they are comfortable using the iPAMS: 54.5% agree, and 45.5 % somewhat agree; think iPAMS is a good innovation in project accomplishment monitoring: 27.3% strongly agree, 63.6% agree, and 9.1% somewhat agree; using iPAMS promoted timely and more accurate reports: 27.3% strongly agree, 45.5% agree, and 27.3 % somewhat agree; Believe that the use of iPAMS has improved productivity in terms of time spent in field works and report preparation: 9.1% strongly agree, 54.5% agree, and 36.4% somewhat agree.

iPAMS has surpassed its intended use. While COVID-19 prevents SUCs and DBM from implementing actual project visitation, with this application, the SUCs could implement blended inspection and DBM remote monitoring. Project accomplishment reports have been generated and submitted within the prescribed submission date. Although process issues were still observed, these would no longer require a system code overhaul but only an improvement. Recently, all nine (9) SUCs have been using iPAMS. At least 111 participants joined in the On-Line Regional Orientation, including the nine (9) SUC presidents, their respective vice presidents, planning directors, and budget officers, to name a few.

Milestones/Next Steps

The development of iPAMS started on 3 February 2020, although preliminaries have already been made before the said date. The development phase was done in 6 months, and it took another three (3) months for testing and deployment until the third week of November 2020. They conducted a simultaneous regional inspection on 21-30 October 2020, where all the nine (9) SUCs in the Bicol Region took part. The DBM Regional Office V issued Regional Advisory No. 1 on September 15, 2020, for the orientation and testing of iPAMS, followed by another advisory on October 6, 2020.

Through this, all the work programs under the GAA Funded projects for 2019 and 2020 were encoded in the system and the corresponding inspections were likewise performed and reported. This activity updated the data/profile of existing projects and was made coherent and consistent with the on-hand records of the Department of Budget Management.

When the iPAMS was introduced, it started with Camarines Norte State College as an in-house project monitoring desktop application. It quickly grew and expanded as a remote monitoring tool, including the Geographical Positioning System, schedule/calendars, and the imaging capabilities of android phones. The evolution or milestones of iPAMS included the following periods and development stages: conceptualization, analysis, design development, programming, coding, user orientation, beta tests, improvement, and deployment within its timeline of 9-10 months.

Organization

Institute for Labor Studies

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Human Resource, Operations

Year Implemented

March 2020 to present

This is a GBPR Entry

Summary

The procurement of goods and services implemented the Online Submission of Bids (OSB) portal of the Institute, which allows the electronic submission and receipt of bids for procurement modalities where a two-envelope procedure or sealed price quotation is required in accepting bids from prospective suppliers/bidders. The OSB uses Google Forms, where prospective bidders can submit their bids, and Microsoft One Drive to store data. The documents that will be submitted should be compressed in ZIP, RAR, or 7Z format with password protection. The password for accessing the file shall be disclosed by the bidders who successfully submitted their bids only during the actual bid opening, which will be done through video conferencing, webcasting, or similar technology.

The IT Helpdesk was established in response to the need to provide swift and efficient IT technical support to ILS employees during Work-From-Home Arrangement resulting from the COVID-19 restrictions and protocols, especially during the Enhanced Community Quarantine period.

Background and Problem

The COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of community quarantine throughout the country have posed many difficulties in the public and private sectors. Traditional recruitment selection and placement, procurement, and IT helpdesk activities in the government required manual or face-to-face interaction to complete such transactions.

These included manual receipt of applications for job posting, face-to-face administration of exam, and conduct of interviews, including oath-taking, collection of quotations/bids from prospective bidders and face-to-face pre-bid and bid opening meetings, manual and hands-on assistance provided to ILS employees, and receipt of service requests for technical assistance to the IT team from various sources including Facebook messenger.

The overall objective of the transition is to ensure that health protocols are observed while at the same time, addressing the needs of the clients, both internal and external, with efficiency and ease of transaction for all three processes.

Solution and Impact

For Online Recruitment, Selection, and Placement:

To address the risk of acquiring the COVID-19 virus during acceptance of application, exams, and interviews, as well as routing of documents, the office identified a contactless or less face-to-face interaction as the best method to continue safe RSP processing. The online application was pilot tested in March 2020. The HR Unit crafted the Job Application Online (JAO) and the IT Unit used the Google form for applicants to encode and submit online the most important application details (education, training, experience, and eligibility) and qualification documents for a more effective assessment by the screening Secretariat and Board members.

The first online exam was administered in May 2020. The qualified applicants were notified that they will take the exam on a specific date and time and were requested to secure a strong internet connection to be able to attend the virtual briefing on the pledge of confidentiality of the exam and instructions and submission of the completed examination after two and a half hours.

The first online interview was done in April 2020. Shortlisted candidates who passed the examination were notified via email to attend the virtual panel interview and were provided the Zoom link on their particular time slot. The Board members met online for tasking of competencies for behavioral interview. Reference documents such as the application documents, competency tables, guide questions, and interview rating sheets were also available in the shared folder specific to the vacancy. This process is best for collation of numerical ratings and recording minutes as well as review and exchange of discussion-consultation on matters.

Submissions of documents, as well as the affixing of electronic signatures, were reviewed and approved online. Minutes of the meeting and resolution were saved in the shared folder, which all members and secretariat could simultaneously review. Affixing of signature was done electronically; hence, there was no face-to-face contact.

For Procurement:

As an initiative, the ILS created its own portal that will be used for the submission of bids from prospective suppliers. Online submission of bids provided new opportunities for adoption to the new normal, where most of the transactions are expected to be done online and with limited face-to-face transactions.

For IT Helpdesk:

With the availability of the IT Helpdesk platform, each request lodged in the platform has been made visible to everyone in the team, including its status and the actions taken, which provided easy access to information in case of related incidents. Further, the requesting party receives automated email notifications when their ticket is updated, making it unnecessary to keep asking someone from the IT team about the status of their concern/s. During the ECQ, the ILS started implementing the Work-From-Home modality, which changed IT support provisions for its employees. In order to adapt, the IT Unit started the development of a platform that could provide solutions to the needs of remote requests.

Milestones/Next Steps

For Online Recruitment, Selection, and Placement:

The remarkable results were:

• The Secretariat need not encode the pre-screening matrix of qualifications because the applicants themselves encode their qualifications in the JAO for verification of the Secretariat.
• Minutes and resolutions were reviewed simultaneously by the HRMPSB members and the secretariat in the shared files in Microsoft Teams, and the use of voluminous paper was avoided.
• Less or no physical contact was experienced during transactions, applications, and processing since most of them were done online.
• Five employees were warmly welcomed during their virtual oath-taking, which was witnessed by officials and employees, even those working from home.

Awards received:

The HR and the IT Units were among the awardees for introducing the online recruitment process through the Job Application Online (JAO), continuing their operations despite the pandemic. Specific award for the HR Unit was from the 2019 ILS Program to Reward and Incentivize Service Excellence (PRAISE) for the continued provision of support services and organizational transactions, especially during the enhanced community quarantine in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, where there was a transition to online transactions for human resource services.

For Procurement:

Bidders are gradually adopting this new way of submission of bids, which also ensures the health and safety of all stakeholders in the procurement process while at the same time increasing the opportunity for more bidders to participate even during the pandemic.

For IT Helpdesk:

Given the efficiency rate of the tool, the IT Unit intends to adopt such a platform even after the pandemic. A new version is being set up and will be launched soon.

Organization

Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Leadership, Human Resources, Operations

Year Implemented

March 2020

This is GBPR Entry

Summary

Pursuant to Proclamation No. 922 s. 2020, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte declared a state of Public Health Emergency throughout the Philippines and designated Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium (DJNRMHS) as a COVID-19 Treatment Facility. Following this, DJNRMHS took drastic yet necessary steps to prepare its facilities and logistics through its Hospital Order No. 0226 s. 2020, initiating a Hospital Emergency Incident Command Structure (HEICS)—a management system that hospitals can adapt during emergencies. In adopting this system, the hospital could implement effective changes toward addressing the pandemic in only two months.

Background and Problem

On 21 January 2020, the Department of Health (DOH) released Department Memorandum No. 2020-0034, “Interim Guidelines on the Preparedness and Response to Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCOV).” It provided the implementing guidelines on Surveillance, Laboratory Testing, Clinical Management, Communication, and Infection Prevention and Control. Likewise, DJNRMHS did its due diligence and implemented the necessary precautions for additional facilities and logistics. However, during this time, typical hospital operation was already at its peak. In terms of the number of admitted patients, around 500 were admitted, and approximately 700 patients were visiting the Outpatient Department and Emergency Room (ER) daily.

And adding to their already constrained situation, In March 2020, the hospital set-up shifted as former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte proclaimed three COVID-19 referral hospitals in the National Capital Region—and their hospital was one of the selected. And yet, among the three identified institutions, their hospital was the first to accept the exceptional challenge of converting the hospital into a COVID-19 referral facility. Pursuant to Proclamation No. 992 s. 2020, the leadership of DJNRMHS committed that all staff would provide service to all Filipinos amidst the pandemic and despite f minimal resources and high risk to all health workers. With all this, on 17 March 2020, DJNRMHS started its difficult transition from a Level 3 teaching training health facility to a COVID-19 referral hospital.

However, as the pandemic started affecting more of the general population, medical staff and other personnel experienced a fast-paced paradigm shift in their professional practice and psychological well-being. Especially during the beginning of hospital preparation, all of their staff experienced anxiety, difficulties, and fear. Nonetheless, DJNRMHS staff participated in all the activities to be more knowledgeable and skillful to become confident and an expert in providing quality care.

Notably, the medical staff was experiencing discrimination in their communities. Some of them were being avoided during rides on public transportation, and others were even forced to evacuate their residences because their family members were being abused by their neighbors. All these affected the general welfare of the medical staff. Particularly for DJNRMHS, these incidents translated into low morale and high levels of distress for their staff. The community around the institution expressed their fear and anxiety through a mass rally, and a few even caused civil disturbances.

Solution and Impact

On 17 March 2020, under Hospital Order No. 0226 s.2020, the Hospital Emergency Incident Command Structure (HEICS) was initiated to employ more structure in its command, control, and coordination. It consisted of changes such as creating a more logical management structure, redirecting roles and responsibilities, creating more comprehensive reporting channels, and revising nomenclature. Through these changes, the institution could comply with all social and environmental standards as a COVID-19 referral hospital. In only two months, the entire hospital was able to adapt.

Notable structural changes included:

• Regular wards from Pediatric, Surgery, Diagnostic buildings, and Internal Medicine buildings, including offices, were redesigned into a COVID-19 ward with a 300-bed capacity which complied with isolation requirements;
• The COVID-19 ward was designed with a traffic flow system that separated “clean” from “dirty” areas;
• Nurse stations, donning and doffing areas, and storage areas for medical stocks were strategically placed throughout the hospital;
• The Emergency building was repurposed to house the Hospital Infirmary, the Hospital Epidemiology, and Surveillance Unit (HESU) office, Communication Center office, Medical Social Service Unit satellite, and the COVID training office;
• The receiving area for COVID-19 referrals was also strategically placed near the patient admission and discharge entry/exit point.

Also, notable procedural changes included:

• A Communication and Operation Center was immediately activated to ensure that all concerns on contingency plans and protocols are cautiously implemented and evaluated.
• Protocols were adapted from DOH’s interim guidelines on the handling of COVID-19 patients.
• Infectious Disease Specialists and Infectious Disease Nurses were assigned to manage COVID-19 cases and Person Under Investigation.
• And through the joint efforts of its Human Resource Section, COVID-19 training unit, Public Health Unit, Psychology Department, and HESU, all hospital staff and related communities were also trained to be prepared against current and future pandemics.

Overall, the health facility was able to redesign its physical structures while executing, monitoring, and evaluating new policies and procedures. Despite COVID-19 cases being at its peak, the hospital staff could adapt to the new normal while still managing to resume normal business functions.

As a result of robust leadership and good governance, along with active engagement and strong commitment of staff, many positive outcomes were achieved. These included low rates of affected hospital staff with no record of death, high number of recovered cases, stable status of budget allocation and funding, high staff retention, and high rates of augmentation (i.e., the integration of healthcare workers from other agencies and hiring of Contract of Service employees dedicated to the management of COVID cases). Besides short-term results, a long-term impact of the institutional transformation was the hospital becoming renowned for managing emerging infectious diseases while still sustaining its institutional mandate to provide general and leprosy care to the public.

Milestones/Next Steps

Beyond the requirements of being a COVID-19 referral hospital, a swabbing area and molecular laboratory for RT-PCR testing was established and approved for operation. Furthermore, DJNRMHS was able to affirm partnership with government and non-government agencies to support this endeavor.For now, the challenge with this new endeavor is maintaining a pool of competent healthcare professionals to meet the increasing public healthcare demand.

Along with facility preparation, they also implemented workforce conditioning. Training programs were accredited with Continuing Professional Development units by the Philippine Regulatory Commission (PRC). Also, all hospital staff were tasked to undergo a series of training sessions and orientations to be more equipped and engaged in their roles and responsibilities.The COVID-19 ward team also underwent a pre-deployment activity consisting of cycles of training and orientation, physical/medical examination, psychological assessment, and briefing before and after clinical duties.

Existing policies and procedures were also modified in accordance with COVID-19 operations. New policies and procedures were also created, related to operations such as RT-PCR testing, staff welfare, procurement and distribution of resources.

And with the timely response of the institution towards the government mandate, DJNRMHS received commendations from DOH Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, DOH Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega, and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr.

Organization

Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Leadership, Human Resource, Operations

Year Implemented

September 2012 to present

This is a GBPR entry

Summary

The college needed to align its performance metrics with its many institutional mandates. To accomplish this, the college implemented the CSPC Strategic Performance Management System (CSPC-SPMS). Adapted from the foundational SPMS, it is a four-cycle, customized, and integrative approach for managing the overall performance of an organization. It encompasses performance planning and commitment, performance monitoring and coaching, performance review and evaluation, and performance rewarding and development planning.

Background and Problem

The college needed to align its performance metrics with its many institutional mandates; this included factors such as the Philippine Development Plan (PDP), the College Strategic Plan, the Annual Investment Program (AIP), the College Performance Indicator Framework (PIF), and the Executive/Legislative Agenda. To address this issue, the college sought to utilize a Strategic Performance Management System (SPMS).

Developed by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in 2012, The SPMS is a four-cycle, customized, and integrative approach for managing the overall performance of an organization. This encompasses performance planning and commitment, performance monitoring and coaching, performance review and evaluation, and performance rewarding and development planning. It operates on the basis that performance goals and measurements are aligned with the following:

1. National development plans
2. Agency mandate
3. Vision
4. Mission
5. Strategic priorities
6. Organizational performance framework

Notably, the SPMS adopts a team approach to performance management. This is where accountabilities and individual roles in achieving organizational goals are clearly defined to give way to collective goal setting and performance rating. Moreover, its implementation requires the creation of the Performance Management Team to serve as the key player in implementing the system.

One of the system’s benefits is that it can align the involvement of various offices and delineate their respective roles toward attaining an organization’s goals. It also addresses the issue of subjective evaluations by implementing strategies such as performance-based evaluations, incentives for performers, developmental plans for poor performers, and sanctions for non-performers based on objective metrics.

Solution and Impact

CSPC institutionalized its SPMS by adopting the CSC’s Policy Guidelines governing establishing and implementing the Strategic Performance Management System. Said guidelines also identified some general policies and objectives.

Particularly, the policy guidelines articulated the key players and their respective responsibilities. In their implementation, their workforce was composed of: the College President, the Performance Management Team (PMT), Institutional Planning and Development Director, Human Resource Management Officer (HRMO), heads of offices/departments, and individual employees.

For their implementation of SPMS, their activities for each of the four-stage cycles are as follows:

In their first cycle, they conduct performance planning and commitment during the last quarter before the start of the new calendar year. This is when offices and employees identify their respective targets and expected accomplishments on various levels (i.e., institutional, office/unit/departmental, and individual). Organizational targets are also aligned in the Office Performance Commitment and Review (OPCR), while employees and individual targets are indicated in the Individual Performance Commitment and Review (IPCR).

In their second cycle, they conduct quarterly performance monitoring and coaching. These are facilitated by their College Deans, Division Directors, and Unit Heads who use the Performance Monitoring and Coaching Journal. Critical incidents are recorded with the coaching and action plan schedule during this cycle. Catch-Up/Recovery Plans are prepared for those behind work targets.

In their third cycle, they conduct performance reviews and evaluations., This is when the PMT Secretariat consolidates, reviews, validates and evaluates the initial performance of the heads of departments/units and individual employees based on reported accomplishments against established success indicators.

In their last cycle, they conduct performance rewarding and development planning. During this cycle, the development/unit heads and supervisors make appropriate development interventions or strategic options available in coordination with the HRD Office. Individual employees submit their respective individual development plans to improve or correct unsatisfactory or poor performance. The result of the performance evaluation/assessment serves as input to the following stakeholders and processes:
Heads of offices, for identifying and providing the different kinds of interventions needed to be based on the developmental needs identified;
The HRD Office, for consolidating and coordinating developmental interventions that will form part of the Human Resource Development Plan and the basis for rewards and incentives;
And the PMT for identifying potential nominations for various institutional awards and incentives.

Overall, the system aligned the institution’s operations towards realizing its vision, mission, goals, and objectives, facilitated a smoother flow of operations, and ensured the timely realization of targets.

Milestones/Next Steps

Institutionalizing the system led to the achievement of the following awards and recognitions for CSPC:

1. ISO 9001:2015 Certification transitioned from ISO 9001:2008. The PMT has become the college partner in crafting, reviewing, and implementing the Quality Objectives of each office, which has led to continuous certification and recertification.
2. Consistent Performance-Based Bonus (PBB) Qualifier. CSPC has been awarded by the AO25 Secretariat, CHED, and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). The PMT ensures that all these are rationally distributed to different delivery units and that targets are also achieved on the timeline set;
3. Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy in the Government for Human Resource Management (PRIME-HRM) Level II Accreditation. CSPC was also commended by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) as PRIME-HRM Level II accredited for implementing the four pillars of human resource management. The PMT serves as the focal in the Performance Management System and ensures a link between Training and Development and Rewards and Recognition;
4. Quality Management System (QMS) Award. The college is among the 22 government organizations recognized by the Government Quality Management Committee (GQMC) in December 2018.
5. Red Orchid Hall of Fame Award. CSPC is a Red Orchid Hall of Fame Awardee for having a Smoke-Free Advocacy in 2015, 2017, and 2018. The Performance Management Team became a college partner in ensuring that policies on smoke-free campuses are implemented.
6. Saringaya Award. CSPC is a Saringaya Awardee (2014, 2016) for ensuring that the College is eco-friendly. The Performance Management team included the adoption of eco-friendly practices in their targets of the delivery units/individuals.
7. Eco-Friendly School Award. CSPC is one of the two (2) SUC recipients among the 9 SUCs in the Bicol Region given by the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (EMB-DENR) in October 2019.
8. AACCUP accredits 100% of its accreditable programs. The College has been very conscious of targets, and the Performance Management Team serves as its guard in determining the targets and priorities.
9. Center of Excellence. CSPC is awarded the Center of Excellence in recognition of the quality of training, career development services, and international community-building. The PMT serves as a partner of the college in planning and developing employees’ career advancement.
10. Conversion of CSPC to Polytechnic State University of Bicol (PSUB) through RA 11283. Coping with the Philippine Higher Education standards, CSPC was finally converted through legislation from a college to a Chartered State University. The PMT is currently helping the college comply with the indicators needed before its full transition to a university.
11. SUC Level III Classification. CSPC is now classified as SUC Level III per Joint Circular 2016-1 of the CHED and DBM. The areas evaluated were Quality and Relevance of Instruction, Research Capability and Output, Services to the Community, and Resource Management.

Organization

Department of Education – Schools Division of Dumaguete City

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Strategy, Operations

Year Implemented

School Year 2020-2021

This is a GBPR Entry.

Summary

The DepEd Schools Division of Dumaguete City has adopted several online programs that feature flexible implementation arrangements to help address concerns with the continuity of learning during the COVID-19 crisis. Five such programs focusing on instruction and curriculum development were implemented: the research-based 2SOD (2 Subjects in One Day) Curriculum, Dumaguete Learning Resource Portal, Chada Today TV, Sugilanon sa Kahanginan, and Online/Distance Learning Modality.

Background and Problem

With the enforcement of restrictions on travel and gatherings brought about by the spread of COVID-19, the Schools Division of Dumaguete City decided to prioritize ensuring the continuity of learning, together with the active involvement of all teachers, parents, and the community. This introduced an opportunity to explore and promote the transition into more sustainable, responsive, and resilient schools, highlighting along the way the crucial role of research and innovation in the education system and the need for reinforced partnerships and cooperation between schools and stakeholders.

Solution and Impact

The DepEd Schools Division of Dumaguete City has taken several measures to address the crisis, starting with the adoption of several online programs that address the flexibility and accessibility needs of their beneficiaries. A survey conducted in June 2020 found out that around 90% of enrollees have cellphones or other gadgets with access to the internet, giving the Division a ready avenue to provide easy access to education while reducing the exposure of students, teachers, and school staff to possible infection.

The following programs, designed to contributing to the development of DepEd’s Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELCs), were implemented as part of this effort:

1. 2SOD (2 Subjects in One Day) Curriculum is a research-based intervention that adopts a streamlined teaching schedule.
2. Learning Resource Portal is a Division-made website used as an online repository of instructional materials from Kindergarten to Grade 12, which are made readily available to teachers to be used for instruction.
3. Chada Today TV features lessons from Kindergarten to Grade 3, the formative years of children, which supplement the modular instruction given to said learners. Airing of these lessons started on October 12, 2020, and will run until the end of the school year.
4. Sugilanon sa Kahanginan is a radio-based instruction program focusing on values education through stories shared on-air by selected teachers of the Division.
5. Online/Distance Learning is provided by the Division through its official partnership with the education service platform Edmodo.

Milestones/Next Steps

At the time of writing, all five programs are ongoing at both elementary and secondary school levels. In recognition of these efforts, the Schools Division of Dumaguete City received the “Most Outstanding Division” award from DepEd Region VII.

Organization

Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Leadership, Strategy

Year Implemented

2016

This is a GBPR entry.

Summary

The Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology (NEUST) has been suffering from many issues. Some notable ones were that their students had poor performance in licensure exams, citations from their university were almost non-existent, and their operation manuals, codes, and handbooks were outdated. To address these issues, facilities were improved, and more importantly, a Learning and Development (L&D) Office was established. This office led to many positive changes across the institution and addressed many of the aforementioned issues.

Background and Problem

Upon the assumption of Feliciana P. Jacoba to office in 2016 as president of the Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology (NEUST), the institution was already suffering from various issues that prevented it from reaching its full potential and achieving its targets. Mainly, these issues revolved around instruction, research, and governance. This prompted her to review the university’s policies, reassess the prevailing procedures and implement new strategies.

Instruction

When it comes to issues regarding instruction, NEUST students showed low performance in licensure exams, falling either below or barely above the national passing percentage. The university also had limited avenues for developing students’ other potential, and faculty development programs were limited to supporting faculty members attending external seminars, training, and conferences. Moreover, faculty members were mostly from graduate programs in the university’s graduate school, thus proliferating academic inbreeding. The university’s library facilities and collections were also outdated, and a general lack of facilities for the delivery of instruction was also observed.

Research

In terms of the university’s issues around research, it had a weak research and extension interface. Moreover, research niche and agendas were almost non-existent because research undertakings were handled only by a few faculty members. And of the lesser research outputs which did exist, they could be attributed to academic inbreeding.

• Only a handful of internationally published research articles and citations are almost non-existent.
• Innovation was frail and unmotivated.

Governance

Regarding issues around governance, the university’s operation manual, codes, and handbooks have either lost their relevance, are non-existent, or not approved by the Board of Regents (BOR). Moreover, NEUST was also inundated with Notices of Suspensions and Notices of Disallowances from the Commission on Audit (COA) due to findings of inefficient fiscal management. And aside from all this, a number of unfilled faculty items were also on the verge of being taken back by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). And overall, this culture of complacency led to low morale across the university.

• Quality assessment is only through accreditation by the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities in the Philippines, Inc. (AACUP).

Solution and Impact

Driven to improve its situation, facilities were enhanced to strengthen the triad of functions mentioned; the university modernized its library facilities, increased the number of books in its collection, implemented digitalization practices, and acquired software like Grammarly and Plagscan, which are essential to faculty and students’ research activities, and improved laboratory facilities.

However, one of the most significant improvements implemented was the creation of the Learning and Development (L&D) Office. It was designed to facilitate faculty capability building and policy formulation. And through this office, many policies were indeed implemented addressing the previously mentioned issues.

For example, a policy now allows faculty members grants for study leave with pay to encourage them to pursue higher degree programs in other universities. This was created with the goal of lessening academic inbreeding among faculty ranks.

Policies were also put in place to enhance international linkages so that the university may offer a wider range of opportunities for student development, like in-practice teaching and on-the-job training (OJT). This strategy promoted students’ excellence as evidenced in students’ increased performance in the licensure exams, students emerging as winners in national and international competitions, and the internationalization of its curricular programs—meaning that NEUST graduate programs saw a number of international students enrolled.

The office also promoted excellence in research by institutionalizing a research manual. It stipulated policies such as incentives for research endeavors and provisions for facilities that stimulate innovation. Also, it established research centers that gave the university research direction and consequently boosted the research undertakings of the university, promoted ethical research practices, and stipulated. Altogether, these resulted in a marked increase in the number of internationally published research articles in journals indexed in Clarivate Analytics, Scopus, SAGE, and SpringerLink.

Moreover, other notable developments were brought about by the office:

1. The attainment of Level 1 accreditation from the University Research Ethics Committee by the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board (PHREB);
2. Many innovations were born, as evidenced by the number of utility model registrations and copyrights held by the faculty members, product development technologies introduced into the community, income-generating projects established, and partnerships with LGUs/GOs/NGOs were intensified.
3. Participatory approach to governance became a regular practice through implementing a program called “A Time with the President.” It consisted of a state of the university address, a mid-year review of annual targets, and annual planning.
4. New offices were created to facilitate the delivery of the University’s triad of functions. Some of these offices revolved around quality assurance, international and domestic institutional linkages, a data analysis center, and many more.
5. Intensified recruitment, hiring, and promotion of personnel
6. Compliance with policies of oversight agencies and other national government agencies.

Because of the changes brought about by its leadership, the NEUST constituents’ morale heightened. And overall, attitudes evolved from complacency to enthusiasm, as evidenced by the plentiful memberships to various committees.

Milestones

Over time, the office has contributed to many of the institution’s successes. In no particular order, they include:

1. Reviewed and Revised Vision-Mission Statement (2017 BOR Res. No. 12)
2. The following offices were established: OIDIL, Quality Assurance Office, Data Analysis Center, Learning and Development Office—to handle faculty development.
3. Generated more than 80M grant from external sources, the majority from NGAs
4. Five topnotchers in Licensure examination from 2016 to 2019
5. NEUST COEd students as Philippine representative to ASEAN Data Science emerging as 1st runner among ten competing countries
6. Improved Facilities such as the construction of the following buildings: College of Agriculture building, Tissue Culture Laboratory, USG Function Hall, Agriculture Training Center, Metal Innovation Center, Onion and Garlic Research and Development Center, Science and Technology building, as well as massive renovation of old existing buildings and expansion of academic buildings
7. State of the Art Facilities of the College of Nursing
8. Established four Research Centers: Metal Innovation Center, Center for Environmental Research, Onion and Garlic Research and Development Center, and Center for Indigenous People’s Education.
9. Intensified Food Research and Development Projects: Wright Blend array of products includes ground coffee, iced coffee, and other related products, buko pie production, and sugar-coated Pili Nuts, among others.
10. Identified SUC partner of MIRDC-DOST in the establishment of a Regional-MEIC (Metal Engineering and Innovation Center) with an initial grant of more than 13M worth of equipment in the first year of implementation (2020-2021)
11. From only 13 in 2015 with no citation earned to 135 before the end of 2019, research published in peer-reviewed international which elicited 200 citations as of 2019; 173 research papers were presented in local, regional, national, and international venues.
12. From 9 utility models in 2015 to 28 registered patents and utility models accumulated from 2017-2019.
13. Institutionalization of the University Research Ethics (UREC) that was granted Level 1 Accreditation Status by the Philippine Health Ethics Research Board (PHREB)
14. Copyrighted IT program, i.e., Saint Nicholas of Tolentine Parish Information System (2017); Barangay Information System; eDocument Tracking System; Mobile App for Programming Module; etc.
15. Online admission examination and enrollment system starting AY 2020-2021 in response to new normal
16. BOR approved operation manuals, handbooks, and codes that embody policies and protocols of all colleges, essential departments, and units
17. Linkages with international institutions: Lifelong College, Hongkong; Beijing Dudley Investment Consulting Company, Ltd., Beijing City, China; Vihn University, Vietnam; University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific; Daffodil University, Bangladesh; Jeonnam State University, Republic of Korea
18. Various awards and recognitions have been received from different public and private entities, acknowledging the contribution of the NEUST to the socio-economic uplift of the people’s lives.
19. Awards and recognitions received by the NEUST from 2016-present are as follows:
    • CSC-Certificate of Recognition- PRIME-HRM Bronze Awardee (4 categories: Learning and Development, Performance Management, Rewards and Recognition, Recruitment, Selection and Placement (2017)
    • Ten Outstanding Stakeholders of the Department of Education
    • Outstanding Blood Donors for HEI Category
    • ISO 9001:2015 Certification Status