LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Some ninety five percent of the over 9,000 registered businesses in this capital town were found to be compliant to the prevailing health and safety protocols to help in containing the spread of the dreaded Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the municipality.
Vice Mayor Roderick Awingan, chairperson of the municipal government’s Health and Safety Protocols Monitoring Team, reported that over the past 7 months that the members of the team had been inspecting weekly businesses in their compliance to health and safety protocols, they found that there had been significant improvements on the establishments’ progress in their compliance to prescribed guidelines governing the implementation of various levels of community quarantine.
He disclosed that 5 teams composed of representatives from concerned offices of the municipal government, labor and trade and industry departments, Cordillera Comprehensive Action Team (CCAT), volunteers and barangay officials, are being dispatched by the municipal government weekly to check on the compliance of the business owners to uncovered deficiencies the previous weeks for them to sustain their observance of basic health and safety protocols for the health and safety of the public.
At the start, Vice Mayor Awingan claimed there was low compliance on the part of the business owners on the prescribed health and safety protocols as they adjusted to the requirements, but as soon as these were done, compliance was maintained on the strict rules and regulations.
The vice-mayor stipulated the members of the team started monitoring the compliance of churches to the health and safety standards before expanding to the operation of businesses and eventually the proposed opening of tourist spots.
Awingan expressed his gratitude to the business owners for their sustained compliance to the existing health and safety protocols, thus, the need for them to set the standards for the public for their customers to be convinced to comply with the protocols.
Last week, the members of the monitoring team temporarily suspended their regular inspection because of the upcoming Yuletide break and that their inspections will resume anytime next year.
He urged business owners not to be complacent because of the suspension of their regular inspections as it is important is for the businesses to protect their customers from the spread of the deadly virus.
Awingan asserted that the cooperation of the public is important in sustaining the gains of the municipal government in the prolonged implementation of the various levels of community quarantine to combat the spread of the virus in the locality. By HENT