Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the government is launching digital solutions as well as health and safety protocols for restaurant dine-in operations following the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
“The DOT (Department of Tourism) and the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) shall soon roll out a post-audit mechanism to ensure that all restaurants follow the prescribed standards with non-compliant enterprises facing temporary closure until strict adherence to regulations is accomplished,” Romulo-Puyat said in a virtual press conference.
The tourism chief said inclusion tech venture builder Talino Venture Labs is also to provide digital solutions for accredited businesses to help them meet the technological demands brought by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation.
Among these are the SafePass and DineIn mobile application.
Safe Pass is a COVID-19 prevention and management platform for restaurants that automates space capacity planning, reservation, contact tracing and protocol enforcement.
The DineIn app, on the other hand, seeks to maximize revenues and cashless transactions via the digital menu system, electronic ordering and kitchen management.
These apps are also powered by Amihan Global Strategies, a digital transformation leader in Southeast Asia.
“Innovation is key to effectively implement and maintain health and safety protocols in their premises.”
“We introduce these free digital solutions as part of the government’s support to businesses, especially MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises), in their transition to the new normal. Here, innovation is key to effectively implement and maintain health and safety protocols in their premises,” the Tourism head said.
At the same time, she clarified that the applications are not mandatory.
“The restaurants can operate without it but they’re looking for this kind of app.”
“They (restaurants) can operate without it but they’re looking for this kind of app. It’s not mandatory but I find that all of them want the app,” Romulo-Puyat told reporters.
Based on latest DOT data, there are around 575 restaurants accredited by the DOT from Metro Manila to Region 13, with the former only having 78.
The “basics of the apps” will be provided free to all DOT-accredited stores.