SELF-REGULATION. An aerial view of the Cebu Business Park, home of many food and beverage establishments in Cebu City. Cebu Provincial Board member Glenn Anthony Soco on Tuesday (Oct. 19, 2021) said food and beverage establishments in Cebu supporting the call to self-regulate their health and safety protocols must vaccinate all their employees for protection against Covid-19. (File photo by Jun Nagac)
CEBU CITY – Food and beverage establishments in Cebu supporting the call to self-regulate their health and safety protocols must vaccinate all their employees for protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), a Cebu provincial official said on Tuesday.
Glenn Anthony Soco, a member of the Provincial Board (PB) representing the 6th District, said he supports the call to empower establishments in putting in place their own safety measures, even as stressed that the primary consideration is safety and well-being of employees and customers.
Soco said he authored a resolution appealing to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to allow restaurants, hotels, resorts, establishments offering food and beverage to the public, accommodation businesses, and tourist attractions to regulate their safety nets against Covid-19.
The resolution was tackled and passed during Monday's PB session.
However, Soco said the management of these establishments must be more responsible in vaccinating their workers and strictly comply with the guidelines set by the authorities.
He said they should effectively address arising health concerns and immediately resolve health and safety issues to be pointed out by local health authorities.
“In the event that violations arise, they may be sanctioned through penalties and even have their licenses/permits revoked, as the case may be,” Soco said in a message sent to the Philippine News Agency.
The call to self-regulate, he said, stemmed from the effort of the food business industry in Cebu to revert to their former normal operations regardless of quarantine classification while strictly following the health protocols within their establishment, and securing the necessary permits from the government.
He said the effort is perked up to save businesses that have been reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as owners work hard to protect their investments, ensure livelihood for their workers and help revive the economy.
“Most of these businesses are losing their patronage as consumers are discouraged from enjoying the services they offer,” he said.
He also said these businesses comply with the strict health protocols with most of them applying their own initiatives to further protect their customers and maintain safe premises for their patrons and workers.
This effort would prevent more incidents of downsizing operations and shutting down of businesses which, Soco said, would result in laying off of their employees. (PNA)
