Davao plans bid for record for most ‘torotot’ blowers

Cebu Daily News file photo

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — This city, known for a successful ban on firecrackers that has been in place for 11 years now, is not going to be silent on New Year’s Day.

A different kind of noise will fill the city streets when 2014 comes—that of thousands of paper horns that the city hopes will bag it a Guinness World Record for the most people blowing paper horns (torotot) to welcome the New Year.

The city government, with the help of telecommunications giant Smart Communications, will try to establish a world record that an official said would “institutionalize Davao City as a city that believes it does not need firecrackers.”

“We only need to come together and be happy with the New Year,” said Councilor Leo Avila.

The city government banned firecrackers and pyrotechnics 11 years ago and proved it was serious in outlawing these products.

Chinese residents dropped tradition and found ways of celebrating the New Year without firecrackers.

Arnold Dellosa, Smart regional sales manager for Southern Mindanao, said the ban prompted merrymakers to be more creative.

He said that for the Guinness record attempt, organizers would gather at least 10,000 paper horn blowers in one place to welcome the New Year in a bid to break Japan’s record of 6,000 paper horn blowers assembled in one place.

“It will be the first in the Philippines,” Dellosa said. The event, he said, would start at 1 p.m. on Dec. 31 and end at
1 a.m. on Jan. 1.

“It has been a long tradition among people in this city to also blow the horn in every corner of the house to drive out the bad spirits and welcome the New Year,” he said.

Dellosa said Smart would provide a free horn to each Smart subscriber taking part in the event.

The paper horns, he said, would come with raffle coupons to win prizes. Subscribers may register by text message for the free horns, which can be kept as souvenirs, as the telecommunications firm plans to hold the activity every year.

In Zamboanga City, a ban on firecrackers has also been put in place.

Msgr. Crisologo Manongas, administrator of the Archdiocese of Zamboanga, said the church welcomed the ban but hoped it would be enforced faithfully.

Manongas appealed to the faithful to donate the money they intend to use on firecrackers to the victims of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” instead.

A small pack of sparklers, he said, costs P40 to P45 “and it takes just seconds to burn your money.”

“That money could have been a kilo of rice that could have translated into a meal for a family of six,” said Manongas.

Kidapawan City also banned pyrotechnics this year and the mayor admitted there had been attempts to convince him to delay its implementation.

“This is for the good of everybody,” said Mayor Joseph Evangelista. “It may take some time before we can really adapt to the firecracker ban but we should start now,” he said. Germelina Lacorte, with reports from Julie Alipala and Edwin Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao