By NG Seruela
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Monday (Oct. 18) said more than 45,000 Safety Seal applications were approved by different government agencies.
In the Laging Handa public briefing, DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said 45,649 applications were approved out of 86,159 establishments that applied for the Safety Seal certification, while 9,794 applications were denied.
“Yes, napakalaking bagay po ito (Safety Seal) sa ating mga negosyante dahil kung mayroon silang Safety Seal na galing sa ating pamahalaan ay mayroong karagdagang operational capacity. So madami-dami na po ang nag-apply nito, 86,159 establishments have applied. Out of this number, 45,649 ay naaprubahan po ng iba’t ibang government agencies,” Malaya said.
Malaya assured that certification will not be given to establishments that do not pass the standards.
“Kung hindi po papasok sa pamantayan ng Safety Seal ay hindi po talaga mabibigyan ng Safety Seal certification,” he said.
He added that 12,652 establishments are now holding the certification in the National Capital Region (NCR).
“Iba’t ibang ahensiya po iyan ang nag-iisyu niyan. Nandiyan po ang DTI at 4,152; Department of Tourism at 1,085; DOLE at 541; DILG at 12,154; at kasama na rin po, of course, ang pinakamalaki, ang local government units at 27,717,” he added.
Meanwhile, Malaya announced that as of Oct. 15, only 139 areas are under granular lockdown from the 303 areas recorded on Oct. 1.
“So malaki po ang pagbaba, consistent po ito sa mga datos natin sa case transmission and increase in vaccination dito sa National Capital Region…So ito pong 139 lockdown areas na ito na ongoing right now, ang pinakamarami po niyan ay nasa Pasay, may 33; sa Lungsod ng Maynila, 34; sa Quezon City, 30; Pateros, 27; at mayroon din pong 10 sa Las Piñas.”
He also reminded the public to continue complying with the minimum health standards following the easing of the alert level system from Alert Level 4 to Alert Level 3 in Metro Manila. – bny