In order to help the safety of consumers, guests and employees of private and public establishments, the Department of Trade and Industry is urging establishments to apply for the Safety Seal Certification and adopt the StaySafe.ph contact tracing application of the government.
Director Leonila T. Baluyut, DTI-3 Regional Director, noted that by applying for and getting the Safety Seal, establishments are assuring consumers and stakeholders that the government has inspected the office, shop or establishment and it has been found to be compliant with the minimum public health standards.
The Safety Seal Certification program is an Inter-Agency Task Force directive (IATF Resolution No. 87 s. 2020) response by different agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Tourism (DOT). Through this program, government agencies adopted the StaySafe.ph as the official contact tracing app of the government and monitored compliance of establishments with health protocols.
For Central Luzon, a total of 135 Safety Seal applications have been received by seven provincial offices of DTI. From these applications, 42 have been approved. Pampanga has 13 approved applications while Bulacan has 10 and Tarlac has 13 approved Safety Seal applications. Zambales has six (6) approved applications while Bataan has one. Majority of the establishments approved by DTI were groceries, supermarkets and shopping clubs. At least one hardware store and one service and repair shop had their Safety Seal Certification approved by DTI.
Director Baluyut further stressed that while the Safety Seal is not mandatory for continued operation of establishments, the presence of the seal in establishments is a welcome assurance of their sense of commitment to safety, especially in the midst of pandemic.
For the DTI, establishments which can apply to the agency for the safety are the following: groceries, supermarket, shopping clubs, convenience stores, construction supply/hardware stores, logistic service providers, barbershops and salons, and service and repair shops. Public establishments may apply with the DILG while tourism related enterprises and restaurants inside hotels and resorts may apply with the DOT. Manufacturing, construction, utilities, warehouses and media companies may apply with the DOLE while malls, retail stores, restaurants outside hotels and resorts, cinemas, gyms and spas, and other private establishments may apply with their local government units.
The DTI official further stated that the Safety Seal has a validity of one year for tourism-related enterprises and six (6) months for establishments covered by the other agencies. She also asked the public to check the authenticity of the seal, which must be displayed in a conspicuous place in the establishment. It must bear the logo of the issuing agency, the Safety Seal number, the date it was issued and its expiration date. The public may also contact the hotlines of the issuing agencies to verify the authenticity of the seals thru: https://www.dti.gov.ph/safetyseal/application-inquiries-hotlines
For more information on the safety seal, the public may visit the link online thru : www.dti.gov.ph/safetyseal
