Press Release
April 27, 2019

PRIB: Binay wants safety standards for all indoor play areas in commercial centers

Senator Nancy Binay has filed a bill seeking to establish a cleanliness and safety standard program for indoor play areas inside malls, restaurants and commercial centers nationwide.

Binay said operators of indoor play areas, which serve as an attraction for families with children, should ensure that facilities for public use are clean, safe and free from diseases.

Under Senate Bill 2174, otherwise known as the Act Establishing Safety and Cleanliness Standards for Public Indoor Play Areas, the Department of Health (DOH), in consultation with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), shall establish a program providing for:

  1.  regular inspection of all indoor play areas by local health inspectors, not less frequent than once every year;

  2.  formulation of standards for safety and cleanliness for all indoor play areas, and

  3.  establishment of a national information campaign, educating entrepreneurs and indoor play area owners about methods of maintaining the safety and cleanliness of the indoor play areas.

Binay said once the bill is passed into law, no indoor play area shall be open to the public unless it has been inspected by authorities. The local public health officer shall issue a certification that the indoor play area is safe for public use.

In case the DOH would declare an outbreak of a communicable disease in a locality, Binay said all public indoor play areas in that locality shall be closed to the public. Local inspectors shall inspect all public indoor play areas in the area affected and issue a new certification to those who comply with the standards once the area has been declared free of the outbreak.

Binay said the DOH would be required to compile a manual of best practices in ensuring the safety of public indoor play areas. The DOH shall also establish a network of public indoor play area operators and service providers for the cleanliness, maintenance and safety of public indoor areas.

"Any person, partnership or corporation who operates a public indoor area without a valid certification shall be fined P10,000 for every month of operation," Binay said.

"This penalty shall be independent of other administrative, civil or criminal liabilities arising from injuries sustained and/or diseases contracted from the use of the public indoor play areas," she added.

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