Zambo bus depot gets Safety Seal certification

THE ZAMBOANGA City Integrated Bus Terminal has been awarded the Safety Seal certification by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for its outstanding implementation of the public health protocols.

The DILG team of inspectors led by Jun Cillo awarded the certification after the bus terminal passed all the safety standards and regulations set by the national government.

The modern bus terminal is being operated by the local government. Supervising Transportation Regulation Officer Rafael Derick Garcellano Evangelista III thanked the DILG for the Safety Seal certification as he lauded the hard work of employees at the bus terminal for ensuring public safety throughout its operation and even before the health crisis. 

Evangelista also praised Mayor Beng Climaco for her support in making the bus terminal one of the best in Mindanao. The mayor has been frequently visiting the bus terminal to ensure it remains at par with the others in the southern region. 

Dozens of commercial establishments have also received their Safety Seal certification and StaySafe QR Codes as the local government continues to verify and process over hundreds of new applications following Climaco’s order. 

“The implementation of the Safety Seal together with the StaySafe QR Code is still ongoing,” Climaco said, referring to the national government’s official digital contact tracing application. 

The mayor said records from the City Administrator’s Office show that hundreds of establishments have applied online for Safety Seal certification and inspection teams have been deployed to check their conformity with the specifications set by the DILG.

Climaco said a total of five teams are going around the city to inspect the 16-point DILG checklist.

In May this year, the mayor issued Executive Order BC 657-2021 adapting the StaySafe.Ph application as the official digital contact tracing system in Zamboanga City as ordered by the DILG.

In her executive order, Climaco said all city and national government offices, including private establishments, and the public are enjoined to use the application and utilize a uniformed quick response (QR) code in all entrances. The order also clearly states that all establishments should put up a help desk or customer assistance desk for the registration with the StaySafe.Ph or for the generation and printing of the QR code for those who do not have smartphones.

The executive order makes it mandatory for citizens - whether local residents or visitors who will enter, work or do business in  all indoor and enclosed public and private establishments here - to download and register at the StaySafe.Ph application which can be accessed on App store for iPhone, Google Play for Android devices and App Gallery for Huawei.

There is also a penalty for those, including establishments which fail to adapt the digital contact tracing system and for the first offense, the penalty is P2,000 and P3,000 for the next offense, and P5,000 for the third offense.

The application was developed by Multisys Technologies Corporation in collaboration with PLDT-Smart Group and PLDT Enterprise, and the national government’s Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and the National Task Force on Covid-19. (Zamboanga Post)