Banned firecrackers destroyed in Isabela

DESTRUCTION. Police Col. Mariano Rodriguez, Isabela police director, leads the destruction of banned and illegally-sold firecrackers in a ceremony at the Isabela provincial office grandstand on Friday (January 3) morning. Photo by VILLAMOR VISAYA JR.

CITY OF ILAGAN, Isabela –– Banned firecrackers, illegally sold pyrotechnic devices, and improvised cannons were destroyed by the Isabela police office at 9 a.m. on Friday (Jan. 3) in a post-New Year’s Day program.

Firecrackers like piccolo were among the illegal items sold in the cities of Cauayan and Ilagan, said Police Col. Mariano Rodriguez, Isabela police director.

“These items [worth P15,000] were seized before and during the New Year revelry as we intensified our crackdown on illegal [fireworks] manufacturers and retailers,” he said.

Isabela recorded seven burn victims due to firecrackers – two in Ilagan City, two in Cauayan City and one each in the towns of Alicia, Cordon, and Roxas.

The small number of patients indicated that “people are aware of the danger of illegal firecrackers,” he said./lzb