DOH chief wants total firecracker ban by 2017

Amid the New Year revelry, Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Janette Garin on Thursday said she was hoping there would be a total ban on the use of crackers in the country by 2017.

Garin made the remark as she personally inspected three hospitals in Metro Manila to ensure their preparedness in treating firework-related injuries.

”Sana pagdating ng 2017, banned na talaga ang firecrackers. Wala naman pong mawawalan ng hanapbuhay kasi patul0y pa rin naman ang public fireworks display,“ Garin told the media, reacting to comments that a firecracker would affect an entire industry.

(Hopefully in 2017, firecrackers are banned. No one will lose jobs because public fireworks display will continue.)

”Ang importante walang buhay ang nasasawi, walang daliri ang napuputol, walang mata ang nabubulag, at walang kamay ang nawawala dahil lang sa pagsalubong ng bagong taon,” she said.

(What’s important is no lives were lost, no fingers cut, eyes blinded, and no hands severed because of New Year’s eve.)

But Garin said her hopes have yet to materialize amid efforts in pushing for such measure.

”Patuloy nga natin itong isinusulong subalit hindi pa rin naipapasa hanggang ngayon,” she said.

(We continue to push for it but up to now it hasn’t been passed.)

At present, only a few cities in the country ban the use of firecrackers during New Year festivities, including Davao, Baguio, Olongapo, Zamboanga, Kidapawan, and Muntinlupa.

Nevertheless, Garin reiterated the department’s call to ban the prohibited ”piccolo,“ a small and cheap but highly dangerous firecracker, which remained to be the top cause of firecracker-related injuries in welcoming the new year.

DOH said that as of Thursday morning, a total of 185 firework-related injuries were reported in the country, 133 of which were caused by piccolo and four were cases of indiscriminate firing.

”Ang nakikita po namin ay nagiging epektibo ang aming kampanya. Yung mga nag cause ng malalaking injuries dati, nawala na. Isa na lang po talaga. Kung mawala pa ang piccolo eh mas maganda para sa mga bata,“ Garin said.

(What we’re seeing is our campaign has become effective. Those who caused bigger injuries before are gone now. Only one more thing. If piccolos are banned totally, it would be better for the children.)

The health secretary also lauded the Philippine National Police for its efforts in tracking down illegal sellers of prohibited firecrackers, saying that it contributed to the decrease in New Year-related injuries, which is 250 cases lower compared to the same period last year.

”Ang target po talaga ng DOH is zero casualty kaya nagpapasalamat kami sa lahat ng nakikipag-coordinate at nakikipag-cooperate sa programa ng departamento,“ she said.

(The target of DOH is zero casualty that’s why we are thankful to all who coordinate and cooperate with the programs of the department.)

Last year, the DOH recorded 860 cases of firecracker-related injuries in the country. TVJ