Firecracker sales booming

BLASTS BAD FOR PETS. Pet owners and environmentalists take part in a campaign by EcoWaste Coalition and animal welfare groups to remind the public that loud explosions during New Year revelries are harmful to animals like dogs, which have an acute sense of hearing. ALEXIS CORPUZ

The sale of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic products in Bocaue, Bulacan, the country’s fireworks capital, has picked up a few days before the New Year, pushing prices up by 40 to 60 percent.

The booming business coincided with more Filipinos using firecrackers and the rising number of fireworks-related injuries nationwide, mostly from “piccolo,” an illegal firecracker.

Assistant Health Secretary Eric Tayag has noted that firecracker use among Filipinos this year is up from 2012.

The injuries were not only from firecrackers but also from stray bullets.

In Nueva Ecija, Alieya Sto. Domingo, 6, survived after a .45-cal. bullet hit her in the head as she sat on a bench in Barangay (village) Bertese in Quezon town at 11 a.m. on Dec. 27.

Sto. Domingo was taken to a hospital in Cabanatuan City where she was declared out of danger.

Amid the rising cases of injuries, Malacañang on Sunday asked the public to heed the Department of Health’s warning to stay away from firecrackers in welcoming the new year.

“The government again appeals to all our people to follow the Department of Health’s reminder against the use of harmful firecrackers to ensure a safe and peaceful welcome to the new year 2014,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said in Filipino in his weekly media briefing aired over Radyo ng Bayan.

Alternative noisemakers

The Palace earlier urged parents and guardians to promote the use of alternative noisemakers, such as toy trumpets and sound systems.

“Children should not be allowed to handle [firecrackers]. We can prevent injuries,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte earlier quoted Health Secretary Enrique Ona as saying.

The Department of Health (DOH) warning may have fallen on deaf ears.

Heavy traffic has beset Bocaue’s “pyro zone,” the designated area for firecracker stalls in Barangay Turo, as motorists drive in from MacArthur Highway to buy firework products.

Brisk sales

Sales have been brisk since Friday, said Linda de Guzman, an employee of Jay-R Fireworks Store, which opened a stall in the country’s fireworks capital.

“Sales pick up right after Christmas, which has been the trend year after year,” De Guzman said.

The increased demand this holiday season prompted traders to raise prices.

Skyrockets, or “kwitis,” sell for as high as P350, up 40 percent from P250, for a bundle of 100 pieces.

People buy 1,000 pieces of firecrackers (called “sawa,” or snake) for P350 to P400, up 40 to 60 percent from the usual P250.

Dancing dragon, which traders described as child-friendly, sells for P25 each.

‘Different high’

Francisco Castillo of Pangasinan province drove to the pyro zone at 3 a.m. on Saturday. Castillo said he spent as much as P20,000 on firecrackers and pyrotechnic products.

“The family contributes to buy our supply. My children already work and it’s a different high when we celebrate the New Year with fireworks,” he said.

Even before New Year’s Eve, people have been playing with firecrackers, resulting in injuries.

Tayag, head of the National Epidemiology Center, said the number of people injured because of firecrackers had shot up to 198 as of Sunday 6 a.m. from the 179 recorded in the same period last year.

Of the total number of injuries, 62 percent was caused by “piccolo,” an illegal firecracker.

Stray bullets

Five were injured by stray bullets and one was hospitalized after ingesting a firecracker, Tayag said in his twitter account @erictayagSays.

In Metro Manila, among the top three cities that have the biggest number of injuries caused by piccolo are Manila, Quezon City and Mandaluyong, according to Tayag.

The DOH said 88 percent of those injured were males while 32 percent were children below 10 years old.

In Central Luzon, at least 65 people have been injured by firecracker blasts as of Dec. 28, according to the DOH.

A 44-year-old woman from Tarlac province and a six-year-old girl from Nueva Ecija were wounded when they were hit by stray bullets.

DOH Central Luzon data showed that Bataan recorded the highest number of blast victims at 19, followed by Bulacan (13); Pampanga (14); Tarlac (11); Nueva Ecija (4); Aurora (3); and Zambales (1).

In the Cordillera region, government doctors recorded 10 cases of injuries attributed to firecracker blasts as of Dec. 28. One victim was a two-year-old.

Hospitals all set

Coloma said around 1,800 hospitals nationwide, including 721 facilities under the DOH, were all set to deal with the expected injuries from New Year’s Eve revelries.

The Philippine National Police has been placed on heightened alert “to intensify patrol in populated areas,” such as churches, transport terminals and shopping malls.

As part of safety measures against indiscriminate firing, Coloma said the PNP leadership had begun sealing the muzzles of service firearms issued to its 148,000-strong force.

“At the end of the [New Year’s] celebration, precinct chiefs will again inspect the firearms to see if anyone among their men violated the policy [against indiscriminate firing],” Coloma said.

Chief Supt. Isagani Nerez, Cordillera police director, did not require the police personnel to tape the muzzle of their guns with tape, which he described as an impractical and ceremonial gesture when he spoke to city police officials on Dec. 23.

Instead, Nerez asked the police to conduct an inventory of PNP-issued firearms and ammunition, and to monitor their use throughout the holidays.

Nerez, however, directed the Baguio police to enforce Mayor Mauricio Domogan’s ban on firework sales.

Director General Alan Purisima, the PNP chief, directed lawmen to be vigilant against illegal firecrackers.

Purisima on Saturday inspected two major trading areas for firecrackers and pyrotechnic products in Bocaue.

Raids

The Bulacan police said officials had made certain that no illicit products would get out of the province’s firework manufacturing centers.

Senior Supt. Joel Orduna, Bulacan police director, said the police had undertaken several raids on illegal pyrotechnic manufacturers in Bocaue, Sta. Maria, San Miguel and Baliwag towns, and arrested 11 suspects.

Seized in a recent police operation in Sitio (settlement) Daang Riles in Barangay Bundukan, Bocaue, were large quantities of chemicals and unlicensed firecrackers and pyrotechnic products, he said.—With reports from Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Armand Galang and Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon; Vincent Cabreza and Desiree Caluza, Inquirer Northern Luzon; and Christian V. Esguerra

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