IATF approved requiring Safety Seals for business permits —DILG exec

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has approved requiring Safety Seals to obtain business permits, an official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Tuesday.

At the Laging Handa public briefing, DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III said the department will issue a memorandum circular to local government units (LGUs) regarding the matter.

“That's correct. That has been approved during the IATF [meeting] that we will issue a memorandum circular to all our LGUs to require Safety Seals in specific identified industries lalo na 'yung mga negosyo na closed door (especially closed door businesses)," Densing said.

The DILG is already crafting the memorandum circular, he added.

According to him, only 6% of businesses in the country obtained Safety Seals so far.

Earlier, LGUs were tasked to inspect and grant Safety Seals to private establishments such as malls; wet markets; other retail stores; restaurants outside hotels and resorts; fast food stores; eateries; coffee shops; banks; money changers; pawnshops; remittance centers; car wash; laundry service centers; art galleries; libraries; museums; zoo; sports centers; tutorial, testing, and review centers; gyms; spas; cinemas; and arcades, among others. The Safety Seal shows an establishment's compliance with COVID-19 health protocols.

The Safety Seal is valid for six months from the date of issuance, except for those issued to tourism enterprises which shall be valid for one year.

It shall also be renewable subject to continued compliance with the requirements, according to the DILG.

DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said last year the safety seal may be obtained at “no cost” to the establishment. —KG, GMA News