The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 7 (Central Visayas) will start issuing next week a safety seal certificate to establishments here found to be compliant with the minimum public health standards set by the government.
DOLE-7 Director Salome Siaton said in a statement on Saturday the department is validating and scrutinizing the compliance of 19 establishments that have been inspected against the checklist and sector-specific guidelines issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
These establishments, mostly based within the expanded Metro Cebu area, were subjected to validation and re-validation of compliance, specifically under the joint DOLE – Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Interim Guidelines on Workplace Prevention and Control of Covid-19.
Once everything is in place, DOLE, together with DTI, the Department of Tourism, local government units, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government – the other signatories to Joint Memorandum Circular 21-01, series of 2021 or the Implementing Guidelines of the Safety Seal Certification Program – will altogether issue and award next week the safety seal certificates to compliant establishments under their respective jurisdiction.
“The department, for its part, is now thoroughly assessing the compliance of these establishments against the minimum public health standards. Hopefully, by next week, we will get to issue a Safety Seal Certificate to compliant companies,” Siaton said.
The DOLE, as issuing authority, will specifically take charge of checking the compliance of establishments in manufacturing, construction sites, utilities (electric, water, gas, air conditioning supply, sewerage, and waste management), information and communication companies (private publication, news, movie production, TV and radio companies), and warehouses.
“We urge companies to apply for a Safety Seal Certificate. That Safety Seal affirms that they have been found compliant with the minimum public health standards. And what does it say to the public? It will tell the people, the workers, and the clients that it is safe for them to go out, visit, and work in these companies because the same has already been issued with a Safety Seal Certificate,” she said.
All covered establishments shall submit their application online via https://reports.dole.gov. ph or in person and the application shall be assisted by the regional office to use the DOLE Establishment Report System.
Establishments applying for the certificate shall be inspected within three days upon receipt of the request.
The issuance of a Safety Seal Certificate is free. The certificate is renewable every after six months and revocable when the concerned establishment is found to be no longer compliant with the minimum public health standards.
Companies may visit ro7.dole.gov.ph and check the DOLE’s Safety Seal Certification Process.
Source: Philippines News Agency
