Ladies and gentlemen, magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat.

We would like to recognize Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles and the heads or representatives of the different government agencies present here today for the signing of the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) on the Safety Seal Certification. We would also like to acknowledge Ms. Margot Torres, Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat communications advocacy co-lead, as well as our private sector partners for working with us on this initiative.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that the nation needs to work together as one so that we can recover and rise as one. As such, we are confident that this whole-of-government initiative will ultimately lead towards a whole-of-society approach that will keep everyone safe and healthy despite the pandemic.

As we’ve noted previously, we need to adjust, reform, and restructure in order to survive and win against COVID-19. Adjusting in the right way is important so we can gradually and in a calibrated manner reopen the economy. But even as we do this, we need to ensure the strict compliance of minimum public health protocols. As President Rodrigo Roa Duterte keeps reminding us, following the minimum health protocols is critical in bringing down the COVID-19 cases, which would then allow us to reopen the economy further.

This is the virtuous cycle we are aiming to achieve. We already saw this late last year until February of this year. As we were reopening more businesses, our COVID-19 cases were also going down—until the new wave of variants came into the country and sparked this surge of COVID-19 cases around March. As such, we have to be careful in achieving this balancing act of preserving lives while also protecting livelihood.

Through the Safety Seal certification, the government aims to increase public confidence in businesses at this time of the pandemic—while also ensuring compliance in the minimum health protocols. This is because the signage of the Safety Seal—which affirms that an establishment has been found compliant with these health protocols—will assure customers that it is safe to be in that establishment. Likewise, it indicates that the establishment is using the StaySafe digital contact tracing application to strengthen the contact tracing initiative of the government—now led by DILG—to effectively contain the spread of COVID-19. It, in a way, commits that sector or establishment to abide by the minimum health protocols.

Since this Safety Seal certification is voluntary, it is up to establishments to self-certify themselves as being compliant with the health protocols. This will remove any fear by establishments that this is just another level of bureaucracy that they have to adjust to or another bureaucratic requirement that they have to fulfill. There is an application process that will be described later.

But more than just signage, the presence of a Safety Seal at an establishment means that they are committing to the implementation of the health protocols. Otherwise, they could face penalties during an audit by the monitoring teams of the various government agencies present here today—or if customers file a complaint against them—with regard to compliance. But even before a penalty, the establishment can be asked to correct any mistake or shortcomings within 48 hours.

For owners of businesses or establishments, if you have any questions about the application process or any other concerns regarding the Safety Seal, all you need to do is to reach out to the agency that has jurisdiction over your business or establishment. The full list will be included in the JMC.

In closing, it is important that we stay the course in resuming the safe and gradual reopening of the economy. In the process of managing and dealing with the virus, we have to adjust and calibrate our moves—that is, to move forward, but step back when needed—until we have safely vaccinated everyone. But we are confident that through this Safety Seal certification and the StaySafe app, we can achieve this goal.

Maraming salamat po at mabuhay tayong lahat. ♦

Date of Release: 26 April 2021