READY FOR THAT OTHER ‘SURGE’ An area at Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center in Manila is set up on New Year’s Eve to treat people injured by firecrackers. —PHOTO COURTESY OF PTV
MANILA, Philippines — Even as it awaited belated reports from monitoring hospitals, the Department of Health (DOH) reported at least 85 firecracker-related injuries from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1, lower than the 96 recorded during the same period last year.
Although the DOH was still awaiting reports from 61 monitoring hospitals, the data suggested that this year’s tally was 75 percent lower than the average 336 firecracker injuries over the last five years.
According to the DOH monitoring report, 55 of the 85 firecracker-related injuries occurred at the height of the New Year’s Eve celebration although there was still no report of any fireworks-related fatality.
The youngest victim was a 2-year-old toddler while the oldest was 54 years old. Most of the victims were between 11 years old and 30 years old.
Twelve victims required amputation and 25 victims sustained eye injuries, while 52 people sustained blast or burn injuries.
Most of the injuries were caused by prohibited firecrackers such as boga (13), five star (seven) and piccolo (seven), according to the DOH.
But 34 injuries were caused by legally allowed firecrackers led by kwitis, which injured 18 people.
Kwitis, a permissible rocket fireworks, also caused most of the 13 fires, as well as the prohibited boga, an improvised cannon made with PVC pipes.3 killed, 4 hurt in shootingThe Philippine National Police reported 17 cases of illegal discharge of firearms from Dec. 16 to Jan. 1, fewer than the 25 incidents in the previous year. But four people from Abra, Bukidnon, Cavite and Ilocos Sur provinces were wounded after they were hit by stray bullets.
The PNP excluded from the 17 the case of a 49-year-old man from Brooke’s Point, Palawan, who accidentally shot himself dead on Dec. 31.
The 17 other cases were from the National Capital Region (five), Central Luzon (three), Calabarzon (three), Bicol Region (three), Ilocos Region (one), Western Visayas (one) and Cordillera Administrative Region (one). All parties involved, including two members of the military, have been arrested.But while there were no deaths related to firecrackers, the PNP did report three deaths and four injuries in Makati City.
Police said several people were drinking alcohol on a narrow street in Barangay Rizal around 2:30 a.m. when the gunman, Roderick Perez, 41, passed by on his motorcycle with his 12-year-old daughter on their way home.
According to the police, Perez had a “minor altercation” with the victims, but cooler heads prevailed.
However, Perez returned, armed with a .45-caliber pistol and fired several shots at the victims, killing three and wounding four others.
A couple, both 19 years old, and their 5-month-old baby boy were killed in a fire that occurred in the early morning of New Year’s Day in Caloocan City, but was not believed to be caused by firecrackers.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said the fire started around 4:22 a.m. on Saturday in Barangay 49 and reached the first alarm, but was put out by 5:29 a.m.
Still, the BFP said firecrackers caused 13 fires, although that was also fewer than the 29 recorded last year.