Quezon City bans households from holding fireworks displays

MANILA, Philippines — Private households in Quezon City are prohibited from using firecrackers and holding fireworks displays.

Mayor Joy Belmonte has issued an executive order, regulating the manufacture, sale and use of firecrackers in the city.

The local government allowed holding of fireworks displays only in public places.

“In 2021, the Department of Health recorded a 47 percent increase in firecracker-related injuries due to unregulated and indiscriminate use of fireworks and other pyrotechnic devices compared to the total number of cases in 2020,” the order read.

The Quezon City Peace and Order Council also recommended guidelines for a safer and peaceful New Year celebration relative to the manufacture, sale, distribution or use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices.

Belmonte’s directive aims to minimize firecracker-related injuries and casualties, protect homes and structures from fires as well as lessen the harmful effects of hazardous chemicals and pollutants on the environment.

Belmonte said authorization from the Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS) is needed before a public place may be used for fireworks display.

The local government also limited the sale of regulated firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices only in shopping malls with clearance from the DPOS and a special permit from the Business Permits and Licensing Department.

“The sale of firecrackers along sidewalks, tiangges and similar establishments is strictly prohibited,” Belmonte said.

She ordered the Barangay and Community Relations Department to disseminate the guidelines in the city’s 142 barangays.

The Quezon City Police District has been asked to strictly implement the guidelines and other laws related to the sale of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices.

Violators will be fined P5,000 and penalized with one year in prison or both, at the discretion of the court, under Ordinance No. SP-2618, S-2017.

Valenzuela lifts firecracker ban

Meanwhile, in Valenzuela, residents were allowed to use firecrackers to welcome the New Year after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

The city government lifted the ban on the manufacture, sale, possession and use of permissible firecrackers, fireworks and other pyrotechnic devices.

Last March, the city council approved Ordinance No. 994 lifting the ban on firecrackers. – Ghio Ong