The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Thursday said it has issued some 59,139 safety seals to government offices that are compliant with health standards amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In a virtual forum, DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said the number is out of the close to 100,000 applications received by the agency and local government units (LGUs).

Meanwhile, 8,107 applications were denied — 7,653 of which were denied by the DILG while 454 were from LGUs.

Malaya said the DILG, which certifies city halls, barangay halls, police and fire stations, jail facilities, as well as national government agencies, received a total of 42,548 applications, 19,092 of which were approved.

The LGUs that are in charge of certifying establishments within their jurisdiction received a total of 57,217, with 40,047 of these being approved.

The remainder of the applications are currently undergoing evaluation, Malaya added.

Aside from the DILG, other agencies that issue safety seals are the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Malaya noted that the highest number of DILG-issued safety seals was in the Ilocos Region at 2,931, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) at 2,453, and Bicol at 2,297.

On the other hand, LGU-issued safety seals were highest in NCR at 11,999; Central Visayas at 7,220; and Calabarzon at 4,243.

“We also have issued a stern warning to establishments that their safety seals could be revoked if they are not consistently implementing the provisions of the guidelines,” Malaya said.

However, Malaya clarified that the DILG-issued safety seals are only valid for six months.

“Pag hindi natin sinunod ang sariling pamantayan, paano tayo susundin ng taumbayan (If we do not follow our own standards, how do we expect the people to follow us) We make sure all requirements are followed and documents submitted by government agencies are complete para hindi mapulaan na may safety seal pero hindi naman nasusunod (so that we will not be called out that we have a safety seal but we do not follow its rules),” he said.

He said most government offices whose applications were denied failed to address some engineering issues such as lack of ventilation or even distancing requirements needed for the safety seal.

While the application for a safety seal is not mandatory, Malaya said this can help boost consumer confidence for public establishments, especially for businesses.

“Let me emphasize the benefit, the safety seal adds another 10 percent capacity depending on the alert level. In Metro Manila, Alert Level 2, we have 50 percent (capacity). The issuance allows us to go beyond by 10 percent. Malaking tulong rin sa inyo to, sa business (This is a big help for your business),” he said. (PNA)