PRICE OF REVELRY A 13-year-old boy, Gabriel Pohanes, grimaces while receiving a vaccine shot against tetanus after being injured by a firecracker explosion during the New Year’s Eve revelry. JILSON SECKLER TIU
Two days into the new year, holiday injuries continue to rise as the health department and the police receive reports of firecracker- and stray bullet-related incidents.
As of 6 a.m. on Friday, injuries caused by firecracker use stood at 455, the Department of Health’s (DOH) epidemiology bureau said in its “Aksyon: Paputok Injury Reduction 2015” report.
Another four injuries were caused by stray bullets, from people shooting guns into the air to celebrate the festive season, it said.
The figures from the Philippine National Police were slightly different from those of the health department, however.
“The PNP reported a total of 194 injuries from Dec. 16, 2015, to Jan. 2, 158 firecracker-related and 36 from stray bullets. It also reported only 31 stray-bullet incidents on Friday which injured 27 people.”
But both agencies still placed the fatality from the New Year’s Eve celebrations at 1, the drunken Manila resident who hugged a big firecracker after lighting it.
No fatality has so far been reported from stray bullets, the PNP said.
Small but terrible
“Piccolo,” a tiny, cheap but powerful firecracker, remains to be the leading cause of most of the reported firecracker injuries.
Of the total number of cases reported, 245, or 54 percent, were caused by piccolo.
Sixty-two percent, or 280 of the cases reported, involved children less than 14 years old.
In the 2014 holiday revelry, 32 percent of firecracker injuries were caused by the piccolo; in 2013, it was 36 percent and in 2012, 26 percent.
The DOH earlier urged the police and local governments to strictly enforce the law against the sale of piccolo during the holidays to significantly bring down the number of firecracker injuries.
Health Secretary Janette Garin earlier said the Bureau of Customs (BOC) must find out in what form piccolo enters the country. She also proposed that the bureau begin stringent scrutiny of cargoes earlier in the year to thwart attempts to smuggle illegal firecrackers, particularly piccolo.
In its report, the health department said the current figure on firecracker injuries—recorded beginning Dec. 21—was 44 percent lower compared to the same period last year.
Majority of the reported cases were from the National Capital Region, mostly from the city of Manila.
Most of the victims sustained blast injuries, 12 of whom had to undergo amputation, the DOH said.
Majority, or 72 percent, of the victims were active igniters of firecrackers, it said.
The report was based on the reports submitted by 50 sentinel hospitals across the country.
Effective campaign
Garin, in a press briefing on Friday, said the DOH’s “Iwas Paputok” campaign, with the help of other stakeholders, and the strict enforcement of the law by the police were what significantly pulled down the number of injuries.
“Our campaign has been effective and so are the PNP’s efforts. Because of being strict, the PNP contributed a lot in lessening the number of firecrackers being sold on the streets, that’s why firecrackers were not that available,” Garin said.
On Friday, President Benigno Aquino III sent a text message to PNP Director General Ricardo Marquez, congratulating the police force for a “job well done” over the holidays.
In his text message to Marquez, the President cited Garin’s report that only 384 medical emergency cases had been recorded by the DOH on New Year’s Day—57 percent lower than the five-year average, and 53 percent lower than the recorded cases in 2015.
Mr. Aquino earlier directed the PNP to strictly enforce the nationwide ban on outlawed firecrackers and indiscriminate firing of guns during the holiday season.
The PNP yesterday reported 152 incidents so far of illegal possession, use and sale of firecrackers, resulting in confiscations of P1,127,629 worth of firecrackers, up from the 123 incidents and P1.099-million worth of confiscations as of Friday.
Over the holidays, the PNP conducted a series of surprise inspections on different fireworks-selling establishments. The police also encouraged citizens to submit photographic and video documentation of those who would indiscriminately fire their guns during holiday revelries.
Garin also reiterated that the DOH will step up its campaign for a total firecracker ban this year.
“Our target really is zero casualty,” she said, but added that the DOH is still willing to support public fireworks display.
Garin, in a radio interview on Friday, also said that some people have appealed to the DOH to not push for a total firecracker ban because it might affect the livelihood of those dependent on the firecracker industry.
She does not believe, however, that many people are dependent on the firecracker business as firecrackers are seasonal products.
A health watchdog group on Saturday urged the government to crack down on smugglers and sellers of piccolo, which it described as “children’s enemy No. 1.”
‘All-out war’
The EcoWaste Coalition, a civil society partner of the Department of Health in the yearly “Iwas Paputok” campaign, said the Bureau of Customs could be tapped for the task early in the year.
“An all-out war against smugglers, distributors and sellers of piccolo will stop this small but terrible monster in further harming more child victims,” said EcoWaste coordinator Aileen Lucero.
The small and cheap firecracker, which is set off like matchsticks, is being smuggled from China, according to Lt. Angelito Cruz, assistant chief of the environmental protection unit of the BOC.
“As what is at stake is the health and safety of young children, we urge the government to provide for a reward system that will lead to the identification and apprehension of culprits involved in the illegal trade of piccolo and other banned firecrackers,” Lucero said.
EcoWaste also joined calls for a total ban on firecrackers to curb the “senseless injuries and suffering.”
“We urge our lawmakers to enact a total ban on firecrackers to stop this out-of-date practice of ushering in the new year with bloodied hands, smoggy atmosphere and garbage-strewn surroundings,” Lucero said.
Murders and accidents
The most recent reported stray bullet victim was 8-year-old Renaissance Dapuyin, who was hit on her right thigh in Barangay San Juan in Molo, Iloilo City, amid the New Year revelry.
In Pangasinan province, a 17-year-old girl was shot and killed by a tricycle driver after she and her cousin tried to stop him from throwing bottles during the New Year’s Eve revelry in Urdaneta City.
The victim, Lyka Guiro, and her cousin, Rosemarie Clune, 27, were asking Noel Estantino, their neighbor, to stop throwing bottles when he pulled out a rifle and opened fire on them, said Supt. Jeff Fanged, the Urdaneta police chief.
Guiro died while being treated at the Urdaneta City District Hospital. Clune was wounded but is in stable condition.
Estantino fled and is now being hunted, Fanged said.
In Isabela province, police are investigating three murders that took place on New Year’s Eve in San Mariano town and Ilagan and Santiago cities.
Doctors treated two people who were hit by stray bullets in Pangasinan and Ilocos Sur. Trinidad Lazaro, 69, of Binalonan, Pangasinan, said she felt a sharp pain on her arm as she was slicing a piece of rice cake in her kitchen.
In Ilocos Sur, a stray bullet hit the shoulder of Melody Lamigo, 36, in Santa Maria town.
Four motorcycle riders died in accidents early on Friday in the Pangasinan towns of Sison, Infanta and San Fabian. Jerry Salinas, 35, and his passenger, Aira Rizza Navarro, 16, died when their motorcycle collided with a truck in Sison, while Robert Mendoza, 45, died when his motorcycle skidded in Infanta. Roberto Gotomanga, 42, died when his motorcycle crashed into a concrete marker in San Fabian.
Regional police said firecracker injuries from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1 in Pangasinan reached 97, while there were 45 in Bulacan, 29 in Ilocos Sur, 44 in the Cordillera region and 7 in Isabela. With reports from Gabriel Cardinoza, Villamor Visaya Jr., Kimberlie Quitasol, Inquirer Northern Luzon, and Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Inquirer Central Luzon
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