The Philippine National Police (PNP) steps up its drive to curb the widespread online sale of illegal firecrackers in a bid to ward off injuries and fatalities during New Year revelry.
PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil on Wednesday said he has directed the Civil Security Group (CSG) and the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) to intensify their monitoring and go after the online sellers of unsafe firecrackers.
“As for the ACG, they are conducting cyber patrols. Our CSG, meanwhile, is in charge of issuing permits to transport. However, those using motorcycles, they don’t have any permits to transport these firecrackers. These are dangerous and cannot be easily imported,” Marbil told reporters during an inspection of firecracker stalls in Bocaue, Bulacan.
Marbil said the police would conduct regular inspections and monitoring to prevent the sale of illegal firecrackers.
“We will confiscate them. We have a list and the police know what these illegal firecrackers are. These are harmful as these can cause fires,” he added.
The PNP earlier made public the list of prohibited firecrackers. The banned items are
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, Goodbye Napoles, Hello Columbia, Goodbye De Lima, Super Yolanda, Kingkong, Goodbye Bading, Kabasi, Hamas, and Watusi.
These illegal firecrackers are usually oversize and contain more than 1/3 teaspoon or over 0.2 grams of explosives and do not have proper markings, especially the address and name of the manufacturer.
A standard fuse of a firecracker or fireworks should also not burn in less than 3 seconds, but not more than 6 seconds.
Marbil said they are also continuously monitoring illegal fireworks manufacturers.
Meanwhile CSG director Maj. Gen. Leo Francisco warned against the sale of firecrackers and fireworks online.
“Online selling is prohibited under the law with regards to these firecrackers. We are not sure of the quality of these firecrackers or whether these are compliant with safety standards,” he said.
Francisco said they are coordinating with online shopping platforms, particularly Shopee and Lazada, where sellers of illegal firecrackers usually thrive.
He said the illegal sale of firecrackers not only poses health threats, but also affects legitimate manufacturers and the entire fireworks industry.
