43rd ANNIVERSARY MESSAGE OF ADMIN. CO

Thank you for coming and joining us here today. It is a true pleasure for me to welcome you all on this very important event, the 43rd founding anniversary of the Parole and Probation Administration.

I am honored to lead this celebration together with all the men and women of this agency. Our weeklong celebration which started on July 18, 2019 kicked-off with various activities across all our regional and field offices nationwide. I might say that today’s celebration is not so much of a festivity but rather a solemn occasion wherein we reflect of what we accomplished and still needed to be done.

This year’s theme “PPA @ 43: Committing to Continual Improvement Towards Customer Satisfaction” is highly relevant because it speaks of the direction our agency is pursuing to achieve excellence in our services. Given the on-going and advanced technologies utilized in the delivery of public service, we in the PPA should not be left behind. Over the last 43 years of existence, our agency has undergone changes in mandate and functions that resulted in restructuring of workforce and programs. This is to keep up with the latest trends in corrections and at the same time to be equally responsive to the fast changing digital age.

To date, our agency is now working on initial and preparatory stages of implementing the different information system that will upgrade and fast-track our services. These systems namely the Single Carpeta System, Probation Information System, Case Management Information System and Human Resource Information System are the innovations we adopt to improve our capability to respond to the growing needs not only of our clients but also of our partners in the community-based corrections.

The implementation of these systems clearly demonstrates how we in the agency redesigned ourselves for the new challenges and opportunities we face. At this point, may I briefly mentioned that we are currently confronted with a huge number of additional clients as a result of the implementation of the Supreme Court En Banc Resolution on “Adoption of the Plea Bargaining Framework in Drug Cases”. The influx of cases being handled by our field officers reached an increase of 148% in 2018. With the current 904 field personnel, it cannot be helped that the surge in number of cases is slowly taking its toll to our field workers to perform efficiently. But this situation did not stop every one of you to work harder despite this unexpected additional responsibility.

Despite of limited manpower and resources that would test our commitment and resiliency as rehabilitation workers, I am confident that we can face and conquer this new challenge together. We cannot be defeated by just any trials and odds simply because the future of our clients is always at stake.

Celebration of anniversaries by every institution and organization is important and meaningful. Ours is not different. This year’s celebration is doubly meaningful to all of us because we had finally obtain the seal of excellence in public service through the grant of ISO 9001:2015 certification. I might say that this is a major boost to the agency and for us to further pursue improvement and developments towards efficient and responsive policies and standards in our services to the public. To be able to comply with the requirements of a Quality Management System or international standards should make us all proud.

As we celebrate more anniversaries in the coming years, I am hopeful and confident that more progress will be achieved. Opportunities paired with obstacles or trials is inevitable but I firmly believe that we can all surpass these as long as we have the same spirit of mutual respect and common goal to set aside self-interest.

Before I conclude, let me take this opportunity to express my gratitude and thanks to my fellow workers in the PPA for what you have done for the good of this agency. We have worked together for a long time and I have seen how each of you made sacrifices for the welfare of our clients. I am constantly motivated and inspired by your enthusiasm and vigor to help our clients regain their place in the society they harmed. I salute every one of you.

The road ahead will not be always smooth sailing as unpredictability will continue to rule. There will be success and failures, highs and lows, celebrations and crisis but don’t ever give up. Let your passion and dedication remain for it will be rewarded in the end. Thank you for showing your patience and support when it was needed the most. There have been so many paths that were slightly difficult for me but you made the journey possible and bearable. It was a pleasure working with all of you.

Happy Anniversary. MabuhayTayong Lahat!