ILOILO City – The city government here awarded the Safety Seal to 88 establishments out of around 100 that applied and were inspected by the Iloilo Safety Seal Certification Program Inspection and Certification Committee.
“These were major malls, fast-food chains, and BPOs (business process outsourcing),” according to Business Permit and Licensing Division (BPLD) head Norman Flor Tabud on Friday.
To be eligible for the safety seal, establishments must comply with regulation accreditation requirements; the use of StaySafe.ph, the UswagTracer application, or any contact tracing tool; and the enforcement of the minimum public health standards.
Tabud noted that the number of the certified establishments is small compared to the more or less than 15,000 businesses registered in the city.
The application for the certification is voluntary, he added.
He stated that some establishments did not apply, although they comply with health protocols, and emphasized that Mayor Jerry Treñas is encouraging and requiring establishments to adhere to health protocols by securing the safety seal to boost public confidence in visiting their stores.
“Our safety seal certification program is one way of letting the public know that this establishment has complied with the requirements on safety health protocols imposed by the government,” Tabud explained.
On July 13, the Treñas issued Executive Order 60 adopting the Safety Seal Certification Program, covering private business establishments, selected public places, and other offices, including but not limited to malls, wet markets, other retail stores, restaurants outside hotels and resorts, food preparation establishments, banks, money changers, pawnshops, remittance centers, microfinance institutions, car wash, laundry service centers, art galleries, libraries, museums, zoos, sports centers, tutorial, testing and review centers, gyms, spas, cinemas, arcades, and all other establishments that are allowed to open subject to the quarantine restrictions imposed by the government.
The Inspection and Certification Committee is headed by the BPLD with representatives of the City Health Office-Sanitation Division, Iloilo City Compliance Team, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Philippine National Police as members.PNA/PN
