Three days into the New Year, the Health department have already recorded at least 43 firecracker-related injuries.
The department said 38 of the 43 were injured due to blasts burns and eye injuries, five had to be amputate, while two ingested firecrackers.
It added that 91 percent of injuries or 39 victims were male aged between 2 and 69 years old. Half of the number of victims, meanwhile, were injured after using illegal fireworks such as boga and piccolo, the report said.
The number, however, is 51 percent lower compared to the same period last year.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier called on parents to check their children’s rooms and belongings for fireworks they may be hiding and to supervise minors during the New Year revelry next week.
Meanwhile, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Ray Villafuerte is batting for the passage of a law limiting the sale of firecrackers and other pyrotechnics to a maximum of P5,000 for a single-receipt purchase by individuals and local government units identify designated zones where the devices could be used.
In filing House Bill No, 8085, the lawmaker said such stringent measures are necessary to prevent injuries and tragedies arising from the irresponsible use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices, especially during the Christmas and New Year’s Day festivities.
Under the bill regulating the sale of such devices, any corporation or entity requiring an amount higher than the P5,000 limit for firecracker purchases shall have to apply for a special permit from the Firearms and Explosives Office of the Philippine National Police for its fireworks display subject to the regulations that may be imposed.
The use of firecrackers or pyrotechnic devices shall also not be allowed in densely populated residential areas.
“The city or municipality government shall, in coordination with the barangays in their jurisdiction, conduct massive advocacy and information dissemination in the observance of the safety guidelines for fireworks or pyrotechnic use and exhibition. It shall conduct roving inspections and confiscate and destroy firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices being sold to the public which are prohibited by law,” HB 8085 read.
Villafuerte’s bill aims to improve Republic Act 7183.
Stores, outlets, dealers, distributors and resellers are also required to secure a permit to sell from the PNP before they can engage in the sale or distribution of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices.
“There shall be a one-store, one-permit policy,” the lawmaker said.
“Children using firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices must be strictly under adult supervision,” he said, adding “parents and guardians who shall knowingly instigate the purchase of fireworks or pyrotechnic devices by their minor child or ward shall be punished with a fine of P10,000.”
In Makati City, residents were reminded on the total ban of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices in the areas of Barangays Bangkal, Pio del Pilar and Magallanes.
Based on City Ordinance No. 2010-A-020, the city bans the sale, manufacture, storage, possession or use of all types of firecrackers or pyrotechnic devices and other explosive materials in the said barangays, which were affected by the petroleum pipeline leak at West Tower in Bangkal in 2010.
Mayor Abigail Binay called on all city residents to avoid using firecrackers or pyrotechnic devices, and choose safer noisemakers or go to popular sites of fireworks displays to welcome the New Year.
“Let us all start 2019 right by ensuring the safety of our loved ones before, during and after the New Year’s Eve revelry. There are many safer noisemakers that are readily available in our homes, like pots and pans, and trumpets and horns that can be bought at affordable prices,” Binay said.
She also said residents can bring their families to popular venues of New Year’s countdown celebrations where they can watch spectacular fireworks displays free of charge.
“It is my fervent wish that there will be zero incidence of firecracker-related injuries in our city as we usher in the New Year,” she added.
The city chief executive also warned establishments, including sari-sari stores, to strictly comply with a 1994 ordinance prohibiting the sale of any kind of firecracker to minors aged 15 years old and below throughout Makati.
“The police and barangay authorities are under orders to strictly monitor stores and other outlets for compliance. Parents of young children should also watch them closely to make sure they do not have access to firecrackers that can harm them,” she said.
Violators of the 2010 ordinance face a fine of P5,000 or six months imprisonment. If the violator is an establishments (corporation or partnership), the president or general manager, or any person acting on their behalf, shall be held liable. For single proprietorship, the owner or proprietor shall be held liable for the violation.
Meanwhile, violators of the 1994 ordinance will be fined P1,000 and/or imprisoned for 15 days, or both at the discretion of the court.
According to a list released by the Philippine National Police Firearms and Explosives Office (PNP-FEO), prohibited firecrackers include Piccolo, Super Lolo, Atomic Triangle, Large Judas Belt, Large Bawang, Pillbox, Bosa, Goodbye Philippines, Bin Laden, Mother Rocket, Lolo Thunder, Coke in Can, Atomic Bomb, Five Star, Pla-Pla, Giant Whistle Bomb, Kabasi and Watusi.
Meanwhile, firecrackers allowed inside a designated firecracker zone include Baby Rocket, Bawang, El Diablo, Judas Belt, Paper Caps, Pulling of Strings, Sky Rocket or Kwitis, and small trianggulo.
Pyrotechnic devices that can be used outside the firecracker zone are Butterfly, Fountain, Jumbo Regular and Special, Luces, Mabuhay, Roman Candle, Trompillo, Whistle Devices, All kinds of pyrotechnic devices (pailaw), and other types equivalent to the said devices.
Since 2010, the city government imposed a total firecracker ban in barangays Bangkal, Pio del Pilar and Magallanes, the communities near the West Tower condominium in Bangkal where the affected pipeline was located.
The leak came from the 117-km long pipeline owned by the First Philippine Industrial Corp.
Experts said benzene, a component of products from coal and petroleum, is found in gasoline and other fuels and used in the manufacture of plastics, detergents, pesticides, and other chemicals. They added exposure to high levels of benzene can cause drowsiness, dizziness, unconsciousness, and death.