On May 9, 2025, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), led by the Board of Investments (BOI) and in collaboration with the World Bank, carried out a scoping and assessment of the Philippines’ National Quality Infrastructure (NQI). This endeavor aims to deepen understanding of the NQI ecosystem — including standardization, accreditation, metrology, and conformity assessment — and to identify opportunities to strengthen NQI institutions and improve SME compliance with international quality standards. As part of this effort, delegations from the DTI-BOI, along with the World Bank, visited the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS), a selected stakeholder in the NQI. The site visit provided valuable insights into DA-BAFS’s role and contribution to the country’s NQI ecosystem, particularly in the context of standards for agriculture and fishery sectors, as well as the management of organic agriculture.
The delegates who participated in this site visit included Ms. Geeza June Painaga-Auditor, Ms. Vera Ysabel De la Cruz, Ms. Juanita Carpio, Dir. Ernani Dionisio, Christian Schoel, Kimberly May Baltao-Chandra, Dir. Mary Grace Mandigma,PFT, Dr. Alpha Lanuza, Mr. Derrick Tan, and Dr. Gari Pellinor Hernandez.
