TUBA, Benguet—The local government unit here will not issue any special permit to individuals and groups wanting to sell firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials in the town as part of efforts to help in the government’s campaign against unsafe revelry during the Yuletide.
Mayor Ignacio Rivera, a first-term local chief executive, said President Rodrigo Duterte already issued a firm directive against the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials during the holiday season.
“We have to abide by the orders of the President. We will no longer issue special permits to those individuals and groups applying to sell firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials in any place in the municipality,” Rivera stressed.
For the past three years, some 20 vendors have been using the frontage of a construction firm along Marcos highway to sell these fireworks and pyrotechnic materials after Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan declined to issue them special permits to sell.
According to Rivera, his decision was part of the efforts of the municipal government to ensure the safety of the people from the dangerous products and help reduce pollutants in the air, especially during Yuletide revelry.
He added his action was part of the town’s cooperation with what Baguio City started, and he exhorted the local chief executives in the Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay to empower local residents to embrace a new way of celebrating the Yuletide.
He claimed the smoke from the exploded firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials were considered hazardous to health, especially among those suffering from respiratory tract infections.