The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has received the Level 3 Philippine Quality Award (PQA) from the Office of the President for mastery in quality management and performance excellence.

In a statement, the SEC said the PQA is the highest national recognition for exemplary organizational performance conferred by the President.

The PQA Program, patterned after the Malcolm Baldrige Framework of the United States, was established through Executive Order No. 448 in 1997 and institutionalized by Republic Act 9013 in 2001.

Under the PQA system, organizations are assessed for their policies, practices and accomplishments relating to leadership; strategy; customer; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce; and operations.

Four awards and recognition levels are given out under the PQA, with Level 3 citations given to organizations that demonstrated “superior results clearly linked to robust management system.”

The SEC is among the 14 organizations recognized in the 26th PQA Assessment Cycle, and is also the first national government agency, excluding state universities and government-owned and -controlled corporations, to do so.

Of the awardees, five qualified for the Level 3 PQA, the second-highest recognition under the PQA Program; six for Level 2; and three for Level 1.

“The PQA is a testament to our quest for the highest standards of public service and, at the same time, an inspiration that will only drive us further to improve our policies and processes,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said.

He added that, "Our application for the PQA did not only allow us to showcase our achievements over the past five years, but also served as an opportunity for us to further assess and rethink both our internal and external policies and processes.”

Under its medium-term plan called SuperVision 2028, the SEC has adopted and implemented strategic initiatives aimed at transforming the Philippine capital market and the broader corporate sector to be among the best in Southeast Asia.

To this end, the SEC has aggressively digitalized its processes, advocated for sustainable practices among corporations, and adopted other reforms to improve the delivery of services to its stakeholders.

On the digitalization front, the SEC deployed around 50 digital systems that allowed for the automation of its internal and external processes to improve effectiveness and efficiency.

To champion sustainability, the SEC issued guidelines mandating sustainability reporting initially among publicly listed companies and embarked on roadshows to introduce sustainable practices to smaller enterprises.

To ensure the timely and effective implementation of its strategic initiatives, the SEC heavily invested in the development, upskilling and continuous learning of its human resources.