By Kris Crismundo
MANILA – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is processing 600 applications of establishments securing a safety seal, a good housekeeping seal to ensure that the business establishment is following minimum health protocols.
In a Laging Handa briefing on Friday, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said the agency has approved more than 150 safety seal applications since it was rolled out early this year.
He added that not all applications for Safety Seal are automatically approved as the DTI has to do a physical inspection to ensure that the store complies with the minimum health protocols, which include proper ventilation in the establishment.
“We have about 105 applications that were disapproved. But that does not mean they will never get the Safety Seal. They just have to comply (with the standards),” Lopez said in mixed English and Filipino.
In the joint memorandum circular implementing the guidelines on safety seal certification program, establishments that are covered by DTI are groceries, supermarkets, membership shopping clubs, convenience stores, construction supply and hardware stores, outlets of logistics service providers, barbershops and salons, and service and repair shops.
Tourism-related establishments like hotels, resorts, apartment hotels, other accredited accommodation establishments, travel and tours services, meetings, incentives, conferences, and events (MICE) venues and facilities, and restaurants inside hotels and resorts can apply for their Safety Seal certificate with the Department of Tourism.
Manufacturing, construction sites, utilities, information and communication companies, and warehouses are covered by the Department of Labor and Employment while malls, wet markets, other retail stores, restaurants outside hotels and resorts, fast food, eateries, coffee shops, banks, money changers, pawnshops, remittance centers, car wash, laundry service centers, art galleries, libraries, museums, zoo, sports centers, tutorial, testing, review centers, gyms, spas, cinemas, arcades, and all other private establishments are covered by local government units.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) launched the safety seal certification program to give consumers the assurance that the establishments with the good housekeeping seal maintain minimum health protocols.
Establishments with the safety seal should strictly implement proper wearing of face shields and face masks, good ventilation, disinfection, and using the contact tracing system of StaySafe.ph to maintain the good housekeeping badge.
The IATF also encourages consumers to patronize establishments with the safety seal. (PNA) -rir
