Chief Superintendent Vicente Danao, the city’s chief of police, said the minors, aged 15 years and below, were to be turned over to the social welfare office where they and their parents were to undergo counseling.
But charges have been filed against the 19 adults, who face fines and imprisonment for violating the ban on firecrackers and fireworks, Danao said.
Danao said the authorities confiscated 32 boxes of sparklers, improvised PVC pipe-canons called “Lantaka,” bundles of pyrotechnics locally known as “lusis,” and numerous boxes and sticks of various types of firecrackers.
“Despite the ban on explosion and possession of firecrackers, which has been faithfully enforced in the last 12 years, many people are still caught doing it,” he said.
Danao said the good news was that the number of apprehensions has gone down from over a hundred last year, which means more people now understand the ban.
“There was also zero-injury,” he noted.
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