Fireworks ban won’t be lit yet

Fireworks displays, like this one at Rizal Park in Manila during Independence Day rites in June, are at risk of being stopped if Mr. Duterte’s fireworks ban, successful in Davao City, is enforced nationwide.

CITY OF MALOLOS—There are no signs yet that a ban on fireworks and firecrackers successfully enforced by President Duterte when he was mayor of Davao City will be implemented on a larger scale nationwide.

Mr. Duterte suggested the ban in December last year, at the height of the campaign period, coinciding with the national campaign of the Department of Health (DOH) to ban firecrackers and reduce the injury count during the Christmas and New Year revelries.

But the Philippine National Police in Bulacan province has endorsed the renewal of permits that would allow 200 manufacturers and dealers of firecrackers and fireworks to continue their trade in the towns of Bocaue, Sta. Maria, Baliwag, San Ildefonso, Pandi, San Rafael, Sta. Maria and Angat.

Bocaue is considered as the fireworks capital of the country.

Its Pyro Zone in Barangay Turo near the Bocaue toll exit of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) has at least 200 stalls and stores that draw buyers from other cities and provinces and become highly popular during the days leading to Christmas and New Year.

Chief Supt. Aaron Aquino, Central Luzon police director, said the PNP firearms and explosives office issues the permits and its only directive so far is for local police offices to enforce Republic Act No. 7183 (the law that regulates the production, manufacture and sale of fireworks).

“There is no ban,” said Senior Supt. Romeo Caramat Jr., Bulacan police director.

“Stopping the industry may force manufacturers to fire people, who may end up involved in illegal drugs,” said Caramat.

Members of the Philippine Pyrotechnic Manufacturers and Dealers Association Inc. (PPMDAI) has appealed to officials to “go easy” on them in the days leading to the Christmas and New Year season when sales are high, said Celso Cruz, PPMDAI president emeritus.

“Millions of pesos have already been invested and many families dependent on the industry will be affected once a total ban is implemented,” he said.

Cruz, a chemical engineer, said PPMDAI has been conducting safety training for manufacturers and dealers. He said the PNP would not issue permits and licenses to industry players who refuse to attend the safety seminars.

Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado asked the police to go after clandestine factories and smugglers instead. “The smuggling of imported firecrackers should be stopped. Some of these smuggled firecrackers were designed to lure children like the dangerous ‘piccolo’ which had been the frequent cause of injuries,” he said. —CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE, @careyestropeINQ