MANILA - Commercial establishments in the Philippines will soon be required to obtain a "safety seal" certifying that they have fulfilled minimum health requirements before they can get or renew their business permit, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said on Tuesday.

The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has discussed the matter and a joint memorandum circular to local governments is being finalized for implementation, Año told reporters.

“Napag-usapan na namin ‘yan sa IATF na ilalagay na natin, isasama natin sa process ng licensing, whether it is new application or renewal, sa inspection, isasama na natin na dapat naka-integrate na ‘yung safety seals," Año said.

(We talked about it in the IATF. We will include it in the process of licensing...in inspection, we will integrate the safety seal.)

The circular will be released within the second quarter of the year, he added.

"Yung paglalagay ng engineering interventions, siguraduhin na may provisions for sanitation… Para mawala man later on ‘yung tinatawag nating alert systems, nandyan na ‘yan. Naka-institutionalize na,” he added.

(With the inclusion of engineering interventions, we will ensure that there are provisions for sanitation so that if the Alert Systems will be removed, the safety seal is there. It will be institutionalized)

Local governments can mandate establishments to be safety seal-certified before approval or renewal of any business permit, he added.

To be certified, all on-site workers of the establishment should be fully vaccinated. There should also be screening or triage areas at different points of entry, handwashing stations, and adequate ventilation in enclosed areas.

So far, more than 75,300 establishments in the country received a safety seal. Over 20,000 others are scheduled for inspection.

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