MANILA, Philippines — Mayors in Metro Manila have banned the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices to avoid injuries and deaths ahead of the New Year revelry.
In Marikina, Mayor Marcelino Teodoro issued an executive order banning firecrackers and canceling the city’s annual community-based fireworks display and concert.
“This is to prevent mass gatherings and ensure the safety of our constituents,” Teodoro said. “Our primordial concern is the health and safety of the public. We do not want them to get infected with COVID-19.”
He said the order was in compliance with a resolution of the Regional Peace and Order Council, banning firecrackers in Metro Manila.
The Marikina council will pass an ordinance imposing fines and penalties on violators, Teodoro said.
Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian also imposed a total ban on the use and sale of firecrackers in the city.
Gatchalian said there is a need to ban firecrackers to prevent mass gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the prohibited acts listed in Ordinance 833 are the manufacture, production, sale, delivery, distribution, possession and use of firecrackers and pyrotechnics.
Gatchalian said firecrackers should be banned due to injuries and air pollution caused by the pyrotechnic materials.
“The prohibition will discourage people from social crowding and will prevent the spread of the virus,” the ordinance read.
Violators will be fined up to P5,000 and penalized with 30 days in prison.
Manufacturers of firecrackers caught violating the ordinance will have their business permits suspended, Gatchalian said.
The ordinance will only take effect during the state of public health emergency imposed due to the pandemic.
In Parañaque, Mayor Edwin Olivarez banned firecrackers and fireworks to discourage mass gatherings during the holidays.
Olivarez said the move aims to avoid the transmission of the virus.
The city’s business permit and licensing office said it would cancel the special permits of traders caught selling firecrackers.
Mayor Toby Tiangco of Navotas has signed an executive order banning the use of firecrackers.
In his Executive Order No. TMT-060 dated Dec. 16, Tiangco banned the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnics because it could result in a mass gathering of onlookers.
He said mass gatherings are prohibited even during the holidays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before the pandemic, residents were only allowed to watch community fireworks displays in designated areas.
Tiangco said the order was signed pursuant to the Regional Peace and Order Council’s resolution prohibiting firecrackers in the region.
Tiangco ordered the Navotas police, Task Force Disiplina and barangay officials to enforce the directive.
President Duterte has renewed his call for a total ban on firecrackers this New Year celebration. – Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Ralph Edwin Villanueva