DTI-Bulacan awards safety seals to 19 establishments

MALOLOS CITY, Bulacan – At least 19 business establishments in this province have been awarded safety seal certification by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Bulacan Provincial Office.

Mary Grace Reyes, DTI Bulacan information officer, said on Saturday the safety seal certification is a voluntary scheme, proof that an establishment is compliant with the minimum public health standards set by the government and uses or integrates its contact tracing with StaySafe.ph. against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Reyes said the DTI issues the safety seal for supermarkets, groceries, convenience stores, membership shopping clubs, construction supply/ hardware stores, logistics service providers, barbershops and salons, and service and repair shops.

So far, she said they received 54 applications but 17 were disapproved because those are outside DTI's jurisdiction.

“But those denied approvals were referred to other issuing authorities while the remaining applications are due for inspection,” Reyes said in an i nt er vi ew.

The Safety Seal program is an inter-agency effort among the DTI, Department of Health, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Tourism, and Department of Labor and Employment which grants establishments a Safety Seal to be conspicuously displayed indicating that the building or establishment they are entering is compliant with health protocols against Covid-19.

Reyes asked establishments to check their eligibility against the compliance checklist and apply for safety seal certification through an online application system which may be accessed at dti.gov.ph/ safetyseal.

In a statement, DTI provincial director Edna Dizon said the safety seal is valid for six months upon the issuance of the certification, except for tourism enterprises which are given a one-year validity.

"DTI encourages establishments within its jurisdiction to apply for safety seal certification to help encourage more industries to open to ease out the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic by providing more employment and economic opportunities, notwithstanding the ultimate objective of containing the spread of the virus," Dizon added.