No stopping Bulacan ’cracker sales despite gov’t warning

Fireworks manufacturers in Bocaue town in Bulacan reported brisk sales as buyers gobbled up firecrackers and pyrotechnic products hours before the New Year’s Eve revelry.

On Tuesday, vehicles and buyers packed the designated “pyrozones” at Barangay Turo and MacArthur Highway, slowing down traffic flow.

Manufacturers and dealers project a 25- to 40-percent growth in sales compared to the estimated P1-million earnings on the last day of 2018, said Lea Alapide, president of the Philippine Pyrotechnic Manufacturers and Dealers Association Inc. and the Bocaue Fireworks Association.

When President Rodrigo Duterte required all firecrackers to be used only in designated areas in local communities last year, manufacturers produced less items under the assumption that a ban had been imposed, she said.

Manufacturers this year made more products, Alapide said, “after it became clear to us that producing pyrotechnic devices was not prohibited after all.”

Downscaling

But the industry fears downscaling in the future because government health workers have also intensified the campaign against the use of all firecrackers and pyrotechnic products, she said.

Krissy Enriquez of UniStar Fireworks, which distributes products of manufacturer Dragon Fireworks at Turo pyrozone, confirmed that sales have been brisk this year.

“It’s true, sales have been good compared to last year because there were fewer products to sell. Manufacturers did not want to take the risk,” she said.

Whistle bomb, sawa (Judas’ belt) and kuwitis (skyrockets) have been most in demand this week, according to traders. Fireworks were also highly sought commodities at the pyrozones.

Police have been keeping an eye on vendors following a fire that struck a fireworks storeroom in Turo on Dec. 28.

On Monday, two stores along MacArthur Highway were shuttered for allegedly violating safety standards, said Police Lt. Col. Rizalino Andaya, Bocaue police chief.

Cebu raids

In Cebu City, police seized about P1.1 million worth of firecrackers sold outside designated zones.

Police Brig. Gen. 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 in the city. These, he said, were not covered with permits.

The city government has designated an area at South Road Properties 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.—REPORTS FROM CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE AND NESTLE SEMILLA