Zamboanga folk see benefits of firecracker ban
A CUSTOMER tries out a horn being sold on the streets of Davao City, one of the cities in Mindanao that is enforcing a ban on firecrackers. BING GONZALES/INQUIRER MINDANAO
ZAMBOANGA CITY—Fifteen-year old Christine Vidad wants the ban on firecrackers here to stay for a good reason—she earns from it.
The ban on firecrackers helped raise Vidad’s earnings from selling paper horns, or torotot.
The equation is simple for the teenager—no firecrackers equals more torotot.
“People are buying more torotot because firecrackers are banned,” Vidad said.
Last year, when the city has not yet banned firecrackers,
Vidad said she earned only P200 selling torotot. At the start of this year, she earned P500.
The effects of the firecracker ban are felt among those who could hardly make ends meet.
Take the case of Fred Valles, a 67-year-old pedicab driver. He said he saved P1,000 which he would have otherwise spent on firecrackers.
That was how much he spent buying different types of small fireworks and firecrackers during the New Year revelry in 2013, said Valles.
“Now we have torotot, videoke, party and street dancing,” he said. “There are also more children on the streets,” he said.
One good effect of the firecracker ban, he said, is also seen on the streets. “For the first time, there was no garbage,” said Valles.
“I drove around without worrying I might get hit by firecrackers,” he said.
“There was also no strong gunpowder smell in the air. It was quiet. The youngsters were on the streets,” he added.
Valles recalled that two years ago, he brought a wounded boy to a hospital.
“This time, many of my passengers were visiting the Fort Pilar shrine or the Paseo del Mar,” he said.
Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco, who issued the ban, said the five major hospitals in the city reported zero-casualty.
Supt. Joe Marie Albarico, chief of the Zamboanga Central Police Station, described the New Year celebration as the most peaceful in recent years.
In Kidapawan City, the city government said it had proven it is serious in banning firecrackers with the arrest of at least 10 violators and seizure of firecrackers on New Year’s Eve.
Rodolfo Cabiles Jr., city administrator, said the violators were fined and given warnings.
It was the first time that the city government banned the sale and use of firecrackers.
Supt. Leo Ajero, city police chief, said at least P50,000 worth of firecrackers have been seized at the start of the implementation of the ban. Julie S. Alipala with a report by Williamor A. Magbanua, Inquirer Mindanao
