Cops seize P1.1M firecrackers in Cebu City

CEBU CITY –– Police seized about P1.1 million worth of firecrackers in various operations in Cebu City.

The firecrackers they confiscated included pieces of bingala, sky beauty fireworks, roman candle, fountain, colorful shots, whistle bomb/shotgun, libintador/rambo, pop-up, thunder fireworks, and sprinklers.

Brigadier General Ildebrandi Usana, deputy director for administration of the Central Visayas police, said the raids were conducted after they received reports about the illegal sale of firecrackers.

“These firecrackers were not sold in the firecracker zones and so they are not covered with permits,” he said in an interview on Tuesday.

The raids against firecrackers not sold within the firecracker zones started last December 25.

Police officials were verifying the names of the owners of the firecrackers, who face a case for violating the law regulating the sale, manufacture, distribution, and use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices.

Usana directed all policemen to strictly implement inspections of warehouses, especially in the downtown area to make sure firecracker traders would not store nor sell in unauthorized areas in the city.

The city administration has designated an area at the South Road Properties as the zone where vendors can sell their firecrackers.

“We hope to intensify our campaign against the illegal sale of firecrackers, particularly in Metro Cebu, because we want to protect our community,” Usana said.

He said policemen shall continue to patrol all areas to ensure illegal firecrackers wouldn’t be sold in the market and to prevent firecracker-related injuries.

“Our policemen should do what they are supposed to do. They should not have second thoughts in confiscating firecrackers that are sold other than the designated firecracker zones,” Usana said.

Edited by Lzb