MANILA, Philippines — Injuries linked to firecrackers dipped significantly over the holidays, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año disclosed Monday, while no firecracker-related fire incidents were recorded for that time period.
In a statement, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said that "only 50 persons" were injured by firecracker use from Dec. 21, 2020 to Jan. 1, 2021 compared to the 340 in December 2019, or 89% lower than the five-year average from 2015 to 2019.
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In a separate statement issued Friday, the Department of Health said that firecracker-related injuries to people were also down by 85% compared to the same period last year.
"Top fireworks causing injuries were Kwitis (29%), Boga (8%), 5-Star (8%), Fountain (8%) and Triangle (8%). Legal fireworks caused 55% of all injuries while illegal fireworks at 37%. Let us be reminded that fireworks, whether legal or illegal, are still dangerous not only to our safety but also to the environment," the statement read.
“We have also observed that there was a change of behavior of Filipinos towards health. Due to the pandemic, the Filipinos became more aware and involved in ensuring health and safety of their family and community,” health secretary Francisco Duque said then.
Duque attributed the numbers to "the far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting people's willingness and ability to celebrate through the use of fireworks" while the interior chief lauded "the combined efforts" of the national police, military, fire protection bureau, and local governments.
Ahead of the holiday season, Metro Manila mayors, including Marikina Mayor Marcy Teodoro and Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian, also issued executive orders banning the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices to avoid injuries and deaths in their localities.
The Philippine National Police at the time also issued an advisory to remind the public of implementing the order and has said that it will no longer process and issue special permits for community fireworks display in malls and other establishments.
Año added that the DILG would see that Police SSgt. Karen Borromeo will be dismissed from service for "indiscriminately firing her handgun in Malabon during the New Year’s festivities."
“It doesn’t matter if she was having an argument with her live-in partner or fired her handgun to celebrate the New Year. What she did was against the law and she will be facing criminal and administrative sanctions and will be dismissed from the police service,” he said.
For his part, Duque said: "The lower numbers we achieved this year is a welcome development, but we will not stop until we achieve zero firework-related injuries."
— Franco Luna