Firecracker injuries hit 753; outright ban eyed

Paulo Fernandez, 9, from Sampaloc was rushed to the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center after he was injured by ‘Piccolo’ firecracker during the New Year’s revelry in Manila.  RICHARD A. REYES

THE DEPARTMENT of Health (DOH) has reported that the number of New Year revelry-related accidents continued to climb at 760 as of 6 a.m. yesterday, of which 753 were firecracker-related, against the 455 it reported last Friday.

More than half of the injuries occurred in Metro Manila, said the agency whose monitoring started on Dec. 21.

The DOH said it had also received three more reports of stray bullet injuries, in addition to the four that were recorded since New Year’s Eve.

One drunken male died from hugging a lit firecracker.

The DOH said the figures monitored from Dec. 21 to Jan. 3, were 18 percent lower than the five-year average and 9 percent lower than that recorded for the same period last year.

The Philippine National Police, meanwhile, said it recorded more than 300 injuries from firecracker, stray bullet and illegal discharge of firearms incidents during the New Year revelries.

According to PNP records, as of yesterday, 318 people were reported to have been hurt in such incidents, with firecracker-related injuries responsible for most of the casualties at 271 victims.

Stray bullets accounted for 41 victims in 51 incidents, while the illegal discharge of firearms injured two, the PNP said.

The PNP also recorded four people injured in fires caused by firecrackers during the New Year’s Eve celebrations.

The PNP corrected the police figures quoted in the story, “’Cracker injuries up in latest PNP reports,” that appeared in the Jan. 3 issue of the Inquirer. It said that for the period Dec. 16 to Jan. 2, only 194 injuries (not 395 as reported) were recorded by PNP monitoring, of which 158 (not 351) were firecracker-related and 36 (not 44) from stray bullets.

READ: ‘Cracker injuries up in latest PNP reports

PNP spokesperson chief Supt. Wilben Mayor said they would continue their monitoring of New Year injuries.

While it vowed to boost efforts for a total ban on firecrackers this year, the DOH said the campaign could lose steam when Congress goes into recess next month to give way to the election campaign season.

Health Secretary Janette Garin said the permanent solution to stem firecracker-related accidents was a law that will prohibit outright the use of firecrackers.

“What we really need is a law so we can achieve zero casualty. We have been pushing for it but the firecracker industry is also lobbying against it,” she told reporters.