The Dirección General de Energía, Hidrocarburos y Minas (DGEHM), responsible for monitoring and regulating the energy, hydrocarbons and mining sectors in El Salvador, began the process to become internationally certified in a system that prevents acts of bribery within the institution.
This monday an awareness day was held for all employees on the ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management System, which will soon be implemented in the DGEHM and will strengthen all its operations to prevent irregular acts. The international standard will also strengthen trust between the institution and salvadorans and supplier companies, as well as ensure that all services, inspections, supervisions, regulations, authorizations and sanctions meet the highest standards of ethics and transparency.
“Today is a historic day for our institution, because together we are taking an important step to become certified in the ISO 37001 management system, an international system with which we will strengthen and guarantee the transparency of the DGEHM, as well as the proper management of public resources that belong to all salvadorans”, said Roberto Evangelista, Manager of Industrial planning and management.
“We do not want to make the mistakes of the past, which is why we have identified at least 13 bribery risk matrices in our institution, establishing strict controls for our collaborators, mainly those who handle public funds. This is a historic milestone, because we will be the first government institution in our field (energy, hydrocarbons and mines) worldwide to be certified under this management system, which positions us as a reference”, said Daniel Alvarez, General Director of the DGEHM during the training day.
The implementation of these valuable tools for the institution involved all the personnel of the General Directorate, including directors, managers, chiefs, technicians, specialists, inspectors and administrative personnel, who were trained on topics such as: the interpretation of the Anti-bribery and Quality standards, knowledge of anti-bribery controls and reporting channels, identification and improvement of the services provided to users and regulated parties, among others.
ISO 37001 is a management system that establishes specific anti-bribery policies and procedures, which are being implemented by the DGEHM to prevent, identify and manage this type of crime.
For the DGEHM, the Anti-Bribery Management System is a fundamental pillar in the fight for transparency and institutional ethics. This standard not only reinforces the commitment to compliance with the law, but also sends a clear message to users and regulated parties that in this Directorate, as indicated in our Integrated Management Policy, we are committed to zero tolerance to bribery, whether direct or indirect, in any activity carried out by the DGEHM.
To reinforce this system, the DGEHM has created an anonymous reporting line to receive reports of bribery by employees, users, regulated or suppliers, this information will be channeled by members of the compliance function, who will refer the cases investigated to the General Directorate, who will proceed to deduct responsibilities and if they were serious facts, the case will be sent to the Fiscalía General de la República (FGR).
With this type of training, the DGEHM seeks to create a culture of ethics and anti-bribery among its collaborators and then give way to an audit by an international firm, which certifies this type of system.
At the same time, the DGEHM is also working to certify all its activities with the highest quality standards through the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System, which will guarantee and improve the standards in the services offered to salvadorans, planning, coordinating, controlling and evaluating all stages and aspects related to the attention and satisfaction of our users and regulated parties.
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