BAGUIO CITY(PIA) --The Department of Trade and Industry - Cordillera and the City Government of Baguio awarded Safety Seal to SM City Baguio and 13 other establishments inside the mall  for  their compliance to the needed minimum public health standards to operate in this time of COVID – 19 pandemic.

Under the jurisdiction of the City Government, Safety Seal awardees are SM City Baguio, the SM Store, Surplus, Watsons (upper ground), SM Appliance Center, Zarks Burger, Don Henrico’s, and Buffalo Wings and Things.

For DTI Safety Seal certification, awardees are ACE Hardware, David’s Salon, Kuwentong Barbero Barbershop, Pines Seamless Telecom Shop, Tony and Jacky Salon and SM Supermarket.

DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez with DTI – CAR Regional Director Myrna Pablo, Mayor Benjamin Magalong’s Executive Assistant Marlene De Castro and SM Assistant Vice President for Mall Operations Marc Janssen Pe  awarded  the Safety Seal certificates at the SM City Baguio Atrium on  Wednesday (June 30).

The Safety Seal Certification Program is a voluntary certification scheme that seeks to increase consumer confidence amid the prevailing health crisis. It is an undertaking among DTI, Department of Health,  Dept.  of  the Interior and Local Government, Dept. of  Tourism, and  Dept. of  Labor and Employment  under  Joint Memorandum Circular No. 21 – 01.

The program  aims to assure the consumers and the public in general of  the  compliance  of  establishments  with   minimum public health standards set by the government; encourage the adoption of the Staysafe.ph digital contact tracing application to strengthen the contact tracing initiative of the government  to effectively  contain the spread of COVID - 19  and reopen the economy.

Lopez   said the Safety Seal allows establishments to have an additional 10 percent customer capacity from the required capacity allowed by the Inter Agency Task Force depending on the community quarantine level of their host LGU.  He enjoined   more establishments to join the safety seal certification scheme.  

For the country to attain a gradual and sustained re-opening and recovery of the economy, the national government, LGUs, business establishments and the general public must work together in bringing down the cases and prevent the further spread of COVID – 19, the Secretary said.    

  “We have an economy that is very resilient. The solid fundamentals are still there. We have 110 million population which is a very big consumer market and there is business confidence. I assure you that the Philippines will be back as the country has the third fastest growing economy in Asia (before the pandemic).” he said. (JDP/CCD-PIA CAR)