LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The municipal government is now requiring businesses in the municipality to secure their respective Safety Seal certificate to be able to avail of the available incentives and to ensure their strict adherence to the implementation of the basic health and safety protocols.
Mayor Romeo K. Salda stated that the implementation of the Seal of Safety certificate among businesses is part of the marching orders from the inter-agency task force for the management of emerging infectious diseases to compel business owners to ensure their compliance to the prescribed minimum public health standards.
The Safety Seal certificate could be acquired by business owners from the trade and industry department and the local government provided that they are able to ensure their compliance to the prevailing basic health and safety protocols such as the available hand washing area, posting of appropriate notice for the public to comply with the mandatory wearing of face masks, shields and physical distancing among others.
Based on the prescribed guidelines for the implementation of the Safety Seal certificate for businesses, establishments that have been granted such certificate could be granted incentives such as additional 10 percent occupancy depending on the community quarantine status of the areas where the said businesses are located.
Under the procedures in securing the Safety Seal certificate, businesses are required to submit their application for the issuance of the aforesaid seal with the concerned government agencies and local governments where the establishments will be subjected to the usual inspection to ascertain their compliance to the requirements of the seal.
Salda pointed out that the government is doing its best to prevent the rapid spread of the deadly virus by formulating appropriate rules and regulations for people to comply that is why it is incumbent upon residents and business owners to make sure of their compliance to the basic health and safety protocols that will spare them from contracting the said illness.
He tasked the town’s Health and Safety Protocols Monitoring Team to make sure that the businesses that are being inspected in the coming weeks will display their respective Safety Seal certificate and to remind the establishments that do not have the said certificate to already apply for the same so that the owners will not be imposed the prescribed fines and penalties for their non-compliance to the stringent regulations.
The mayor explained that the municipal government does not actually want to impose the prescribed fines and penalties to businesses that do not comply with the display of their respective Safety Seal certificate that is why the best way to go at this point is to cooperate in convincing people to comply with the implementation of the basic health and safety protocols.
He expressed hope that the local government and concerned government agencies do not impose fines and penalties to erring businesses as they will voluntarily comply with the strict implementation of the minimum public health standards until such time that the country will be able to achieve the desired herd immunity for the situation to normalize that will translate to the eventual revival of the local economy.
By HENT
Photo by Armando M. Bolislis