Western Mindanao State University (WMSU) welcomed the Zamboanga City Water District (ZCWD), led by General Manager Engr. Reynaldo R. Cabilin and the QMS Core Team, for a QMS-ISO 9001:2015 Benchmarking Activity on September 3, 2025, at the BAC Conference Room.

The program began with preliminaries and words of welcome delivered by Dr. Berhana I. Flores, Chief of Staff of the WMSU Office of the President, representing WMSU President Dr. Ma. Carla A. Ochotorena. The statement of purpose and introduction of ZCWD officials was given by Atty. Anne Aubrey R. De Guzman-Bugtong, Officer-in-Charge of the Corporate Planning Department.

The benchmarking discussions focused on WMSU’s best practices in its ISO 9001:2015 journey. Dr. Mario R. Obra, Jr., WMSU Quality Management Representative, shared the university’s success stories in meeting standard requirements. Dr. Mely Jane D. Jacinto, Assistant Director of the Quality Management Systems Office, discussed planning, risk and opportunity assessment, internal audit, and corrective action. Dr. Marilyn P. Acabo, WMSU QMS-TWG member and internal auditor, elaborated on the control of documented information.

In her synthesis and closing remarks, Dr. Lea E. Usman, Director of the Public Affairs Office and WMSU QMS-TWG member, emphasized the value of collaboration and knowledge sharing between institutions to uphold quality and efficiency.

The activity highlighted WMSU’s commitment to being a model of academic excellence and organizational best practices, while providing ZCWD with meaningful insights to strengthen its own quality management systems in line with ISO 9001:2015 standards. (LMP, PAO)