• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Sangguniang Panlungsod has asked the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) to intensify the campaign against the sale and distribution of prohibited firecrackers in the city.
The city’s Bureau of Fire Protection, on the other hand, should boost measures to prevent and suppress destructive fire caused by firecrackers and pyrotechnics, said Councilor Claudio Jesus “Kalaw” Puentevella, author of the two resolutions approved by the SP Dec. 27.
Prohibited firecrackers, as per the PNP’s Firearms and Explosives Office, include Piccolo, Super Lolo, Atomic Triangle, Large Judas Belt, Large Bawang, Pillbox, Boga, Goodbye Philippines, Bin Laden, Mother Rocket, Lolo Thunder, Coke in Can, Atomic Bomb, Five Star, Giant Whistle Bomb, Pla-pla, Kabasi, Hamas, Watusi, Goodbye Bading, and Super Yolanda, among others.
“The sale, distribution, and use of prohibited firecrackers pose risk and danger to the safety and health of the general public and can even cause the destruction of properties and injuries to the public,” Puentevella said.
The Bacolod City Health Office already logged one case of fireworks-related injury, as of Dec. 25. The 11-year-old male from Brgy. Estefania was treated of injuries caused by Five Star and sent home, it added.
Puentevella added that mishandling or improper use of firecrackers and pyrotechnics can also cause destructive fires, hence the request to the BFP.
These resolutions complemented the call of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos for local government units (LGUs) to strictly enforce respective ordinances that ban the use of harmful firecrackers.
This is to ensure the safety of the communities, and lessen if not totally eliminate pyrotechnics-related injuries prior to and during New Year’s Eve celebrations, the DILG said.
As per DILG data, there are about 1,210 LGUs, including 102 from Region 6, that already have ordinances banning the use of harmful firecrackers in their respective localities.
“I continue to remind our LGUs, especially the ones with local ordinances already in place, na pangunahan ang pagtitiyak na malayo sa disgrasya ng paputok ngayong holiday season ang ating mga kababayan,” Abalos said in a statement, adding that to attain the target of safe and injury-free festivities, LGUs must see to it that the provisions of the ordinances are implemented down to the grassroots level. | CGC
