Published May 7, 2021, 9:08 AM More than a year into the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippines has yet to establish a working nationwide contact tracing system. Local government units (LGUs), government agencies, and even private enterprises began developing their own contact tracing apps and systems as early as March 2020. Some of these contact tracing apps/systems are working, while some are just for show (in an attempt to convince the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) in opening a particular industry while the places in the country are in a particular community quarantine). Photo by John Camera on Unsplash Last month, a Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) was signed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Health (DOH), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for the Safety Seal Certification Program. The certification program aims to increase public confidence in businesses as consumers are urged to patronize shops with a “safety seal” as issued by different government agencies under the JMC. One of the requirements for any business to be issued with a “safety seal” is for them to use the StaySafe system.