‘Goodbye Gloria,’ ‘Pacquiao’ best sellers

INQUIRER PHOTO

BOCAUE, Bulacan—Media attention has been focused on firecracker injuries again, so underground manufacturers of powerful and unlicensed firecrackers have rebranded and are selling a new product, called “Pacquiao,” to drum up sales less than three days before the New Year celebrations.

No fireworks trader here will admit selling the illegal product named after world boxing champ Manny Pacquiao, although many will swear to its existence.

Because children occasionally ingest these toxic products, government recently banned phosphorus sticks like “piccolo” or the thinner “watusi” red sticks, which create sparks when rubbed against a hard surface.

The Pacquiao firecrackers, which come in the form of thick, black phosphorus sticks, are imported from China, but underground traders package these as Bulacan-made.

The Pacquiao and other forms of piccolo are sold in small boxes, each containing 50 black sticks. A rim of Pacquiao (equivalent to 10 boxes) can be sold for P120 to P150.

The regular piccolo set of 10 boxes sells for P70.

There has been a high demand in the market for “Goodbye Gloria,” which is sold with the sticker of the former President’s face, “Bin Laden” and “Goodbye Philippines.”

On Wednesday, customers lined up the stalls along the so-called Pyro-Zone in Turo, Bocaue, seeking these illegal products, said Ella Tolentino, a fireworks stall attendant.

Brisk

Sales of regulated fireworks have been brisk since the Christmas weekend. Some stores ended their day with P1 million in revenues, Tolentino said, adding that before December 25, sales averaged between P30,000 and P50,000.

Vimie Erise, president of the Philippine Pyrotechnic Manufacturers and Dealers Association Inc., said the industry was not condoning the sale of illegal fireworks.

Tolentino said whenever customers sought illegal firecrackers, stall attendants had been directed to push for “Saturn,” colorful fireworks that cost P250.

A 27-year-old man from Batangas City stopped by the Pyro-Zone at 2 a.m. on Wednesday looking for Goodbye Gloria and was quickly told that the licensed stalls had never sold these items, she said.

The attendant said she asked the man why he would want to buy Goodbye Gloria. “It’s like setting [the former President] on fire,” she quoted her customer as saying.