’Cracker ban on Christmas, New Year mulled

Sale of firecrackers and pyrotechnic products peaks in Bulacan province in mid-December as Filipinos prepare to welcome the New Year.

DAVAO CITY—Brace for quiet holidays as President Duterte said he was considering imposing a nationwide ban on the use of firecrackers during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

The President announced this plan during his visit to the tombs of his parents here, shortly after arriving from Peru, where he attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Summit.

Mr. Duterte said the total ban on firecracker manufacturing and use could no longer be expected this year as the Yuletide season will start soon.

“I’m considering making the entire Philippines like Davao, where we observe Christmas time with solemnity [and] without [the noise from] firecrackers,” he said.

“But this year, it’s too late [to impose the ban] because [firecracker manufacturers] had already bought [raw materials]. Everybody has invested and it would not be fair [to immediately implement a ban],” he said.

Mr. Duterte said a recent accident at a firecracker factory in Bulacan province, which killed two children, has prompted him to consider implementing the ban.

“The least I could do is to [warn] that it’s very, very dangerous,” he said.

The President said accidents caused by firecrackers are not only about public safety but also a public health concern, as hundreds of people are injured by firecracker blasts every year.

“[I banned] it in Davao because most of the victims [elsewhere] were children,” the President said, adding he would come up with measures to protect private property and public interest.

In 2002, the Davao City council passed Ordinance No. 060-02, which prohibits the manufacture, sale, distribution, possession, or use of firecrackers or pyrotechnic devices in the city.

Mr. Duterte said he would wait for Congress’ move regarding the firecracker ban. “I would like Congress to act on it first,” he said.

In Manila, Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said the Department of Health (DOH) has been getting requests from the firecracker industry not to push through with the signing of an executive order regulating the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic products in the country.

“We received letters from industry partners to postpone implementation next year,” she said.

But Ubial said the agency is not likely to grant the request of manufacturers, stressing that the government’s foremost concern is to minimize, if not eliminate, firecracker-related injuries.

“We are pushing [the issuance of the executive order] as early as possible because our position is to save lives and prevent as much suffering and disability as possible,” she said. “Our concern is really for the prevention of injuries.”

Ubial earlier said they are hoping that the proposed EO on firecrackers and pyrotechnics will be signed by Mr. Duterte next month.

Under the proposed EO of the DOH, the use of firecrackers would be regulated. Only trained professionals would be allowed to handle firecrackers in controlled areas.

But Celso Cruz, president emeritus of Philippine Pyrotechnic Manufacturers and Dealers Association Inc. (PPMDAI), said a ban would encourage smugglers to bring in unregulated firecrackers and would push some fireworks manufacturers to operate illegally.

He said they would prefer tighter regulations and stiffer penalties against erring manufacturers of firecrackers and pyrotechnic products.—WITH A REPORT FROM CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE