SAFETY SEAL.The Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) on the Safety Seal Certification Program was signed on Friday (April 23, 2021) led by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Health (DOH), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). The JMC contains the requirements and procedures in securing a safety seal and institutionalizes the certification program. (Photo by DOT Philippines)
MANILA – The Department of Tourism (DOT) on Friday urged all hotels and accredited tourism businesses to get a "safety seal" certification as additional proof that they observe health standards and good housekeeping amid the pandemic.
"Although it means you are already following the minimum health and safety protocols as long as you are DOT-accredited, this is more of an added seal of good housekeeping. It's voluntary anyway and all of the DOT-accredited hotels may apply to this," said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat during a virtual presser after the signing of a joint memorandum circular on the certification program.
The Safety Seal certification program was created to ensure compliance with the minimum public health standards (MPHS), including the adoption and use of the StaySafe.ph application in covered establishments.
DOT's focus is the primary tourism enterprises (TEs) that are DOT-accredited, are compliant with the health protocols, and have adopted or integrated the StaySafe.ph in contact tracing application.
These TEs include hotels, resorts, and other accommodation establishments; travel and tour services; meetings, incentives, conferences & events (MICE); and venues/facilities and restaurants inside hotels or resorts.
The seal is not mandatory, but Romulo-Puyat said this would help strengthen the government's contact-tracing system and even attract safety-conscious travelers.
For TE applicants, the DOT will create a microsite that will carry the following information: implementing guidelines of the safety seal certification program, checklist for the type of establishments covered by the issuing authority, contact details of inspection units, downloadable safety seal toolkit, list of all establishments issued with safety seal, including status (active, revoked, reinstated), complaint hotlines, and request form for reassessment or reinstatement of safety seal.
The validity of the certificate is one year and could be revoked if the establishment is found non-compliant.
If the violation refers to any of the MPHS, the business establishment will be given another 48 hours from the time the safety seal is revoked to implement corrective actions.
Failure to correct the deficiency may result in the suspension of operations as ordered by the city/municipality until corrective actions are taken. (PNA)
