PNP seeks to revoke permit of firecracker seller in Bulacan blast

An explosion struck a row of firecracker stores in Bocaue town in Bulacan, killing two persons and injuring 24 others, some of them commuters of a jeepney that was passing along MacArthur Highway. CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE/INQUIRER CENTRAL LUZON

The Philippine National Police’s Firearms and Explosives Office (PNP FEO) is moving to revoke the license of the owner of a firecracker store in Bocaue, Bulacan, where an explosion reportedly occurred on Wednesday, killing two persons and hurting 24 others.

In a press briefing at Camp Crame on Thursday, FEO director Chief Supt. Cesar Hawthorne Binag said the FEO’s license regulation and revocation board had initiated revocation proceedings to cancel Gina Gonzales’s license to sell and manufacture firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices.

READ: 1 dead, 10 injured in Bocaue fireworks warehouse blast

Gonzales was among the two fatalities in the explosion on Wednesday morning that reportedly started inside her store along MacArthur Highway in Barangay (village) Biñang, affecting a row of other firecracker stores.

But based on the check made by the FEO, the unit regulating manufacturers and dealers of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices in the country, Gonzales, a single proprietor, had no violations since 2014 when she started her business.

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“Ang Gina Gonzales Merchandise, mayroon silang license sa amin to sell so ibig sabihin nag-comply sila sa requirements according to Republic Act no. 7183 and its accompanying implementing rules and regulations,” Binag said.

“Tinignan namin ang records, na-comply naman lahat kaya na-issuehan ng license at mage-expire by 2017,” Binag said.

Apart from the business permit from the local government, firecrackers dealers are required to secure licenses from the FEO and the Bureau of Fire Protection. They also have to complete a safety seminar before they could secure permits to sell and manufacture firecrackers.

But since Gonzales died in the incident, Binag said her criminal liabilities would be extinguished.

READ: Call for ban grows louder after Bocaue explosion

Binag said that aside from Gonzales’ store, Liberty Pyrotechnics and Woody Len Pyrotechnics—two other firecracker stores affected by the blast—had permits from the FEO.

“Our primary concern is to check whether those personalities involved in the Bocaue explosion, particularly the companies mentioned, have complied with our regulation at kung anong pwedeng sunod na gagawin para hindi na maulit ang nangyari sa Bocaue,” he said.

Binag expressed sympathy for the families of the individuals who died and suffered injuries in the tragic incident./rga