ISO 9001:2026 for Philippine government agencies and LGUs under the GQMP (EO 605)

Written from the ISO 9001:2026 standard (sixth edition, published 16 September 2026). Reviewed by Kaushal Sutaria, Lead Auditor, Sterling International Consulting.

An agency or LGU certified under the Government Quality Management Program keeps its ISO 9001:2015 certificate until it expires or until 30 September 2029, whichever comes first, and moves to ISO 9001:2026 through a transition audit by its existing certification body once that body’s accreditation covers the 2026 edition, which happens during 2027. Executive Order No. 605 still directs executive agencies, GOCCs and GFIs to run an ISO 9001 quality management system, so the question is not whether to transition but how to fit the work into the fiscal year, the procurement calendar and the agency’s records.

What EO 605 and the GQMP require of an agency in 2026

Executive Order No. 605 (23 February 2007) directs executive departments and agencies, GOCCs and GFIs to adopt an ISO 9001 quality management system, with priority to frontline services; SUCs are enjoined to do the same, and LGUs, the judiciary, the legislature and constitutional offices are encouraged. It created the Government Quality Management Committee, chaired by DBM and co-chaired by DTI, with DILG, the Office of the President’s Internal Audit Office and DAP as members.

The order names ISO 9001:2000, the edition then in force; ISO 9001:2026 now cancels and replaces ISO 9001:2015. The Performance-Based Bonus link has moved more than the standard.

Instrument	What it says about ISO 9001	Where it stands
EO 605, s. 2007	Directs an ISO 9001 QMS; creates the GQMC; agency costs from existing appropriations (Section 5)	In force
GQMC Memorandum Circulars 2018-1 and 2020-1	ISO 9001:2015 certification validated for the FY 2018 and FY 2020 PBB	Those years only
AO 25 IATF Memorandum Circular 2023-1 (FY 2023 PBB)	Continuing ISO-QMS certification, or equivalent, of at least one critical frontline service or core process; Annex 3 accepts ISO 9001:2015 “or the latest version” from an accredited certification body	FY 2023 only
EO 61, s. 2024 (3 June 2024)	Suspends the AO 25 and EO 80/EO 201 systems pending review	In force
EO 61 TWG Memorandum Circular 2026-1 (3 July 2026), FY 2024 PBB	Twelve agency accountabilities; none requires ISO 9001 certification, and Annex 2 (3.3.4) says an ISO certificate on its own is not accepted as proof of process improvement	Current

The legal basis for an agency QMS is therefore EO 605, which has not been withdrawn, not the bonus rules; and since the latest PBB guidelines make ISO certification neither a condition nor, on its own, proof of improvement, the cost of a late transition is the one in the Global ACI rules: an ISO 9001:2015 certificate that stops being valid on 30 September 2029. DBM told the GQMP Conference in November 2024 that 72.5 per cent of agencies had adopted a QMS certifiable to ISO 9001:2015.

Does the transition to ISO 9001:2026 change an agency’s GQMP standing?

No. EO 605 requires a certified ISO 9001 system; it does not fix an edition, and the FY 2023 bonus rules already accepted “the latest version” of the standard, so a certificate to ISO 9001:2026 satisfies any wording of that kind. What changes is the calendar, set by Global ACI-TECH-3-TR 2029-09-30 (M), the transition requirements that Global ACI issued on 4 September 2026 and released on 16 September 2026 alongside the standard.

Date	Global ACI milestone	What the agency does
16 September 2026	Standard and transition requirements published	Obtain the standard; commission the gap report
31 March 2027	Accreditation bodies ready to assess the certification bodies they accredit	Ask your certification body when it will be extended
30 June 2027	Certification bodies’ transition declarations due	Fix the audit date against that timetable
30 September 2027	Accreditation-body decisions completed	First accredited 2026 certificates appear during 2027
31 March 2028	Initial certifications only to ISO 9001:2026	Take any later recertification to the 2026 edition
30 September 2029	ISO 9001:2015 certificates no longer valid	Nothing scheduled this close

Certification bodies may run the transition audit inside a scheduled surveillance or recertification visit, or as a special transition audit on its own, and may conduct it remotely by ICT, which is useful for regional offices inside the scope. The certification body reviews the changed requirements, changes in the agency’s context and the need for any other changes, and decides, with a justified calculation under ISO/IEC 17021-1, whether additional audit time is needed; that time is a procurement item. Findings are closed before the 2026 certificate is issued, and the certificate is accredited only if the certification body’s accreditation, from the Philippine Accreditation Bureau of DTI or another body, covers the new edition (transition audit page).

Which ISO 9001:2026 changes matter most in a government QMS?

The new list items are 4.2 c), 5.1.1 i), 6.3 e), f) and g), 7.3 e) and 9.3.2 c), plus the new sub-clause 6.1.3. Strengthened wordings sit in 5.1.1 k), 5.2.1 e), 5.2.2 d), 5.3 e), 6.1.2, 6.3 c), 7.1.6, 8.2.1 e), 9.1.3 e) and f), 9.3.2 g) and h) and 10.1. Clause 8 is substantively identical and 9.2 is unchanged in substance, so Citizen’s Charter processes are not rewritten.

Clause	What the auditor tests	Evidence that works in an agency
4.2 c)	Which interested-party requirements the QMS addresses was decided	Register naming citizens, ARTA, COA, DBM and oversight bodies, with a decision against each
5.1.1 i), 7.3 e)	Top management promotes quality culture and ethical behaviour; staff are aware of it	How a service failure or integrity issue was handled; interviews from director to counter
5.1.1 k), 5.3 e), 5.2.1 e), 5.2.2 d)	Risk-based and opportunity-based thinking; a named person reports on opportunities for improvement; the policy reflects context and strategic direction and is applied	Management committee minutes; frontline staff who can apply the policy
6.1.1 to 6.1.3; 6.3 c), e), f), g)	Risks determined, analysed and evaluated, actions proportionate to the impact on intended results; opportunities handled separately; change plans cover resources and information, communication, effectiveness monitoring and review of results	Rebuilt register naming disruption (NOTE 1 to 6.1.2): typhoons, power interruption, system outages; the plan for a reorganisation or an e-government system
7.1.6; 8.2.1 e); 9.1.3 e), f); 9.3.2 c), g), h); 10.1	Knowledge retained, applied and shared; contingency information covers disruptions; actions on risks and on opportunities evaluated and reviewed separately; interested-party changes as a review input; improvement covers processes and future needs	Turnover files; website advisories; review minutes with the new inputs; improvement items from Client Satisfaction Measurement and 8888 complaints (a source of nonconformities, 10.2.1 NOTE)

Under 4.1 the agency only determines whether climate change is relevant; no carbon accounting is required. The clause-by-clause register carries the full list of changes.

On records, the 2026 edition retires “maintain” and “retain” in favour of “shall be available as documented information” and, for records, “documented information shall be available as evidence of”, a change explained in Annex A.2 e). No new mandatory documents or records are added, and an agency with a quality manual updates its edition references rather than rewriting it. What changes is the content of the risk register, the opportunity actions, the change plans, the 7.3 e) awareness records and the management review minutes, updated in place on Effivity or another platform. The documented information guide lists the wording changes.

How the fiscal year sets the transition timetable

The fiscal year is the calendar year, and the budget for a given year is built the year before: Budget Call in January, Tier 1 proposals in February, Tier 2 proposals in May, submission to Congress in July or August, General Appropriations Act in December. FY 2027 is already fixed, so 2027 transition spending comes from existing appropriations, as EO 605 Section 5 provides; FY 2028 needs go into the proposals prepared between February and May 2027.

Procurement adds lead time. Republic Act No. 12009, the New Government Procurement Act signed on 20 July 2024, with implementing rules published on 10 February 2025, covers all procurement by any agency, GOCC, GFI, SUC or LGU. A Request for Expression of Interest for consulting services goes on the PhilGEPS electronic bulletin board, and the certification body’s extra audit time is a contract change or a new procurement.

The calendar that follows: gap report in the fourth quarter of 2026; FY 2028 proposals and procurement in the first quarter of 2027; implementation, internal audit and management review through the second and third quarters; the transition audit between the fourth quarter of 2027 and the end of 2028; 2029 in reserve.

LGUs: same standard, different context

EO 605 encourages rather than directs LGUs, DILG sits on the GQMC, and DBM told the 2024 GQMP Conference that its plans for LGUs include Integral Quality Management and province-wide QMS. LGUs that certify usually scope business permits, civil registry, assessment and treasury, all under the Citizen’s Charter and the three, seven and twenty working-day limits of Republic Act No. 11032. Four changes bite harder in a city or municipality.

Knowledge under 7.1.6 has to survive an election and a change of department heads. Disruption, named in NOTE 1 to 6.1.2, is the typhoon, flood or power interruption that closes the one-stop shop, and 8.2.1 e) expects residents to be told what happens to their transactions. The 4.1 climate determination is, for most LGUs, a short and honest yes. And 4.2 c) asks which interested parties, from the Sanggunian to the barangays, the QMS serves.

How Sterling runs the engagement for an agency

Sterling Revise™ is the fixed-scope transition service. Local Filipino lead auditors spend week 1 on site reviewing documentation and assessing the gaps against the ISO 9001:2026 standard; week 2 produces the gap report, with the number, before the agency commits to anything; weeks 3 and 4 deliver the plan, book the certification body and make the first updates. Delivery runs on Sterling OS™, and the agency’s QMS core team does the work with us, because a consultant-built system fails the quality culture interviews.

After Revise™ the sequence is fixed: rebuilt risk and opportunity registers, the 6.3 change plan and the interested-party register with its 4.2 c) decisions; briefings for top management, division chiefs and frontline staff, and internal auditor training; an audit programme re-based on the ISO 9001:2026 standard and a facilitated management review; then a pre-assessment by a Sterling lead auditor.

Agency work is led from Metro Manila by Mark Santos, from Cebu by Zia Bautista and from Davao by Ann Reyes, so regional offices are visited by someone local. Sterling does not certify; it prepares the agency and conducts audits for certification bodies, and it does not guarantee any certification body’s decision. The proposal is fixed-price after the gap report, with defined scope and deliverables, which is what terms of reference need.

Start with the gap report

The free online ISO 9001:2026 gap check takes about ten minutes: twenty questions, a scored readiness report on screen and by email, and an optional walk-through with a local lead auditor. It shows whether an agency’s gaps sit in registers, records or evidence of quality culture. Take the gap check, then commission the written gap report through Sterling Revise™ for the number before commitment. Email info@iso-certification.ph or call +63 977 815 1204.

Frequently asked questions

Is ISO 9001 certification still mandatory for Philippine government agencies? EO 605 (2007) directs executive agencies, GOCCs and GFIs to adopt an ISO 9001 quality management system, enjoins SUCs and encourages LGUs, and it remains in force. The FY 2024 Performance-Based Bonus guidelines of 3 July 2026 make ISO certification neither a condition of the bonus nor, on its own, proof of process improvement (Annex 2, 3.3.4), but the order does not depend on them.

Will an ISO 9001:2015 certificate still be accepted during the transition? Yes, until it expires or until 30 September 2029, whichever comes first. Initial certification is restricted to ISO 9001:2026 from 31 March 2028, so take any later recertification to the 2026 edition. A rule that says “ISO 9001 or its latest version” is satisfied by a 2026 certificate.

Can an agency be certified to ISO 9001:2026 before 2027? Not with an accredited certificate. Readiness of accreditation bodies is due by 31 March 2027 and their decisions by 30 September 2027, so extension reaches certification bodies one at a time through 2027. An agency can implement the 2026 edition now and be audited once its body is extended.

Does ISO 9001:2026 require a new quality manual? No. Neither a quality manual nor documented procedures nor a management representative is required by the 2026 edition, which also adds no mandatory documents or records. An agency that has a manual keeps it and updates the edition references; the effort goes into registers, change plans and review inputs.

Does the standard require carbon accounting? No. Under 4.1 the agency determines whether climate change is relevant to its QMS, and the NOTE to 4.2 recognises that interested parties can have climate-related requirements. Environmental performance belongs to ISO 14001:2026, published on 15 April 2026, with its own transition to 30 April 2029.

Must a certified LGU transition? Yes, to keep an accredited certificate. EO 605 only encourages LGUs, so certification is a local decision, but an LGU’s ISO 9001:2015 certificate ceases to be valid on 30 September 2029 like any other. The work matches a national agency’s, with more weight on knowledge and disruption.

Read next

Read the migration plan for the twelve steps in order, the transition audit page for what to agree with the certification body, the risk register page for worked examples, the DPWH contractors page if your agency procures infrastructure, the government suppliers guide on iso-philippines.com, and the Sterling Revise™ transition service.

Sources

• ISO 9001:2026, Quality management systems — Requirements, sixth edition, published 16 September 2026: clauses 4.1, 4.2 c) and NOTE, 5.1.1 i) and k), 5.2.1 e), 5.2.2 d), 5.3 e), 6.1.1, 6.1.2 and NOTE 1, 6.1.3, 6.3 c), e), f) and g), 7.1.6, 7.3 e), 8.2.1 e) and NOTE, 9.1.3 e) and f), 9.2, 9.3.2 c), g) and h), 10.1, 10.2.1 NOTE, Annex A.2 e). https://www.iso.org/standard/9001
• Global ACI-TECH-3-TR 2029-09-30 (M), Transition Requirements for ISO 9001:2026, version 1.0, issued 4 September 2026, published 16 September 2026; Global ACI-TECH-3-TR 2029-04-30 (M) for ISO 14001:2026 (global-aci.org).
• ISO/IEC 17021-1; ISO 14001:2026 (published 15 April 2026); ISO/IEC 42001.
• Executive Order No. 605, s. 2007 (23 February 2007), Institutionalizing the Structure, Mechanisms and Standards to Implement the Government Quality Management Program, Amending for the Purpose Administrative Order No. 161, s. 2006. https://lawphil.net/executive/execord/eo2007/eo_605_2007.html
• GQMC Memorandum Circular No. 2018-1 (17 August 2018): https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php?view=article&id=1305&catid=94 · GQMC Memorandum Circular No. 2020-1 (11 September 2020): https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/central-office?view=article&id=1287&catid=96
• AO 25 IATF Memorandum Circular No. 2023-1, FY 2023 PBB guidelines, and Annex 3: https://rbpms.dap.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/AO25-IATF-MC-2023-1.pdf · https://rbpms.dap.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Annex-3_AO25-IATF-MC-2023-1.pdf
• Executive Order No. 61, s. 2024 (signed 3 June 2024), as reported by Philstar, 9 June 2024: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/06/09/2361500/marcos-streamlines-government-performance-incentive-system
• EO No. 61 (s. 2024) Technical Working Group, Resolution No. 2026-1 and Memorandum Circular No. 2026-1, FY 2024 PBB guidelines (3 July 2026): https://www.dbm.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/Issuances/2026/Resolution/RESOLUTION-NO.-2026-1-and-MEMORANDUM-CIRCULAR-NO.-2026-1-updated.pdf
• DBM, GQMP Conference 2024 speech (20 November 2024): https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/the-secretary-2/speeches/3097-the-future-of-quality-and-performance-excellence-in-the-public-sector-2 · DAP Productivity and Development Center: https://pdc.dap.edu.ph/index.php/institutionalization-of-quality-management-system-qms-certifiable-to-iso-9001/
• Republic Act No. 11032 (approved 28 May 2018), Sections 6 and 9: https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2018/ra_11032_2018.html
• Republic Act No. 12009 (signed 20 July 2024; Manila Bulletin, 20 July 2024: https://mb.com.ph/2024/7/20/pbbm-o-ks-new-government-procurement-act) and its IRR, Sections 4.1 and 50 (approved 4 February 2025, published 10 February 2025): https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2025/irr_12009_2025.html · https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/management-2/3212-irr-of-new-govt-procurement-act-now-published
• DBM, The Budget Cycle: https://www.dbm.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/Executive%20Summary/2016/E4.%20Budget%20Cycle.pdf
• DTI Philippine Accreditation Bureau, Management System Accreditation Division: https://www.dti.gov.ph/pab/services/management-system-accreditation-division/