Duterte to issue EO totally banning use of firecrackers

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivers his message during the birthday celebration of Masbate Governor Antonio Kho at the Kalasangan Farm in Cataingan, Masbate on January 9, 2019. ALBERT ALCAIN/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

Despite being part of tradition, Filipinos may soon welcome the new year without the bang and the lights of firecrackers as President Rodrigo Duterte wants to issue an executive order (EO) that will totally ban its use in the country.

Duterte announced this in a speech during the turnover of housing units to wounded soldiers and cops in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan on Thursday, January 10.

“I will issue the executive order at this early para warning na doon sa lahat (as a warning to all) that I am banning firecrackers altogether,” the President said.

He said he will be letting the Department of Justice (DOJ) review his EO “thoroughly.”

“I will ban firecrackers. Wala na (No more [firecrackers]). I cannot… Bakit ako papayag na noon 700 dead tapos may — maski isang bata lang mawalan ng kamay (I cannot tolerate that before there were 700 dead then there was — or even a kid that can lose his hand). Oh so as a President, why would I allow it?” Duterte added as he dismissed a belief that firecrackers are used to scare away the evil spirits.

In 2017, Duterte had signed the EO No.

28 that limits the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices in the Philippines.

Stated in the EO No. 28, the use of firecrackers “shall henceforth be confined to community fireworks displays” to there will be a fewer risk of injuries and casualties.

The community fireworks, it said, shall be “conducted under the supervision of  trained person duly licensed by the Philippine National Police (PNP),” and that it should also be “allowed by the municipality/city concerned through a permit specifying the date and time of fireworks display and the specific area in which the display will be conducted, in conformity with national standards, rules and regulations.”

It also mandated the PNP, along with the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation of the EO as well as conduct information campaigns about the danger of using fireworks.

DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier reported that the number of firecracker-related injuries during the New Year celebration for 2019 went down to 68 percent.

The Health Department only recorded 139 cases of firecracker-related injuries from December 21, 2018 to January 1, 2019, 6 a.m.

This is a 289-decrease from the 428 cases recorded during the same period last year.

Duque added that the “historic” decline in the number of those injured in welcoming the new year was due to EO No. 28.