NCRPO: LGUs should set up firecracker zones

MANILA, Philippines — Local government units in Metro Manila should establish firecracker zones to reduce the number of casualties during the Christmas and New Year’s Eve revelry, a police official said yesterday.

Director Guillermo Eleazar, National Capital Region Police Office chief, directed the NCRPO’s five district directors to coordinate closely with local officials to set up firecracker zones early.

He warned that persons who set off firecrackers outside these zones would be dealt with accordingly.

“We wanted to reduce to the lowest… the casualty figure during the Christmas and New Year celebrations so we are encouraging Metro Manilans to use the firecracker zones for their own welfare,” Eleazar said in an interview.

According to Eleazar, they would also be on the lookout for persons engaged in indiscriminate firing to prevent stray bullet casualties in the metropolis. 

More than 15,000 police officers and augmentation forces would be deployed in Metro Manila under the NCRPO’s program “Ligtas Kapaskuhan 2018” program to prevent crimes.

The government has banned the sale and use of powerful firecrackers such as the Sinturon ni Hudas, plapla, Goodbye Gloria, Super Lolo, whistlebomb, Goodbye Earth, Atomic Big, Triangulo  and Piccolo to prevent injuries during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.