Marinduque teen hurt from defective ‘boga-boga’
SAN PEDRO CITY –– A 15-year-old male from Mogpog town in Marinduque province was injured after his “boga-boga,” an improvised firecracker, blew up in his face.
The number of untoward incidents involving firecrackers usually increases with New Year celebrations, especially where people improvise with firecrackers and noisemakers. The “boga-boga,” for instance, is a PVC pipe made to function as a cannon.
In a message on Saturday, Lt. Col. Imelda Tolentino, spokesperson of the police in Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan, identified the victim as Leo Pantoja, a resident of Barangay Magapua.
She said Pantoja was testing the device around 4:30 p.m. Thursday by attempting to fire a shot in the air.
When it did not go off immediately, Pantoja peered through the pipe and it was when it blew up in his face, causing injury to his right eye.
Tolentino said the victim had to be transported by boat from the island to a bigger hospital in Lucena City, Quezon for treatment.
