The government is looking to set up a “Safety Seal” certification program in an effort to balance Filipinos’ health and safety as the economy reopens further, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Wednesday.
During a Economic Development Cluster briefing, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) had endorsed the creation of the program, to be called “Safe Dito,” to boost the confidence of Filipinos in going out and visiting establishments with strict health, safety and contract-tracing protocols in place.
“One major requirement for the certification is the adoption of [the] StaySafe PH system as their contact-tracing tool,” he added.
Local government units (LGUs) will issue the certification to establishments in their jurisdictions that comply with the mandated protocols, but Lopez said they would be asked to regularly check on these establishments to ensure their continued compliance.
If the establishment fails to comply, its “Safety Seal will be revoked and will only be reissued once [it] is able to comply,” he added.
Certified establishments will be provided a Safety Seal sticker, which they would be required to display at all their entry points.
They are also required to display their StaySafe business quick-response (QR) code at all entry points while their customers are required to scan the QR code of the establishment for screening questions and the latest safety seal certification check.
Employees of these establishments are also required to scan the StaySafe QR code. They can also download and use the StaySafe app.
“The [IATF-EID] strongly encourages LGUs to mandate establishments to apply for a Safety Seal certification to provide their constituents with ‘certified safe’ places to visit and patronize,” Lopez said.
“The LGUs will build and update the StaySafe database each time an establishment receives a safety seal that can easily be accessed by the general public,” he added.
The DTI and other agencies, such as the Health, Interior, Tourism and Transportation departments, will issue to the LGUs the joint memorandum circular outlining the guidelines and requirements in securing a Safety Seal certificate.
No timeline for the program was given, but according to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, it is expected to be rolled out in the first quarter of 2021.
WITH A REPORT FROM PNA