BAGUIO CITY— The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) here is batting for a total ban on the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnics as a deterrent to fire incidents and injuries.
Senior Fire Officer 2 Camilo Balancia Jr., BFP-Baguio information officer, on Thursday said that while the law only provides for a regulation of the manufacture and use of firecrackers and pyrotechnics, they are hoping that it would totally be banned.
He said that they are glad nobody used firecrackers or pyrotechnics before and during the Christmas Day celebration. “We are happy we did not hear any sound of firecrackers or pyroctehcnics unlike in the previous years when weeks or even months before Christmas, there were already some people lighting them.”
Balancia said they attribute this to the strong campaign of the local government of Baguio and supported by different agencies involved that advocate the non-use of pyrotechnics and firecrackers.
City Mayor Mauricio Domogan, for four years now, has resolved not to sign any permit for the sale of firecrackers and urged the residents not to light any due to the many negative effects it causes.
Balancia said that there were incidents in the past where the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnics did not just cause injuries to people especially children, but led to fire incidents.
He said the BFP is supportive of the total ban citing three reasons – to prevent any incidents of fire, the smoke emitted is bad for the health and causes pollution and it generates so much waste, affecting in the environment.
During the launching presscon of the “Iwas paputok” campaign early this month, the Health Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) of the Department of Health reported that there were 22 victims of firecracker incidents in the Cordillera in 2016, most of them children. (Liza Agoot/PNA)
