Business establishments warned

THE DEPARTMENT of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has warned commercial establishments to strictly comply with the public health protocols, saying those who violate the order may lose their business permits.

DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said DILG continues to receive complaints from the public that many establishments do not follow the health protocols and guidelines under the new alert level system imposed by the National Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases.

Malaya cited the violations on the limit on the number of customers inside an establishment, especially those which are supposed to accept customers who are fully vaccinated against the Covid-19 disease in indoor establishments such as restaurants, amusement parks, recreational venues, fitness studios and gyms, among others.

“Many restaurants and indoor establishments are not checking the vaccination status of their customers and are violating the 50% operational capacity for indoor establishments and 70% operational capacity of outdoor establishments,” he said.

“These establishments are strongly warned that the government will revoke the Safety Seals issued to them which will deprive them of the additional 10% operational capacity, as well as lose the badge of honor that they are compliant with all public health standards against Covid-19. Repeat violators or those without Safety Seals, the DILG will recommend the revocation of their business permits issued by the local government,” Malaya said.

He urged all local governments and the police to conduct regular inspections of establishments to ensure their compliance with Covid-19 guidelines. “The local government can issue a show cause order against the violators. We cannot be complacent at this time, even if cases are going down and vaccination is going up, we cannot put our guard down. Look at Europe, their vaccination rate is high but they are now undergoing a new surge. Vigilance will prevent another surge,” Malaya said. (Zamboanga Post)