by Teofilo Garcia, Jr/PNA
ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) has been tasked to ensure the strict enforcement of the firecracker ban ordinance for the New Year revelry in this city.
Ordinance 431– also known as the Firecracker Ban Ordinance of 2014 — prohibits the use, sale, possession, distribution, storage, and manufacture of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices” in the city.
Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar has ordered Senior Supt. Thomas Joseph Martir, ZCPO director, to fully review the ordinance and ensure that cases — even if the offending individuals are minors — are recorded in the police blotter “to send a very important message and to prevent other incidents.”
Salazar maintained the ban should be enforced at all times, regardless of the occasion, and violators will be penalized.
The ordinance penalizes violators with a fine of not less than PHP1,000 but not more than PHP5,000 or imprisonment of not less than six months but not more than one year, or both.
Any person or business establishment found to be using, selling, possessing, distributing, storing, and manufacturing firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices will be fined PHP1,000 for the first offense, PHP3,000 for the second offense, and PHP5,000 for the third offense.
Meanwhile, Salazar has appealed to parents and guardians to prohibit their children from using the banned items during the New Year revelry to prevent accidents.
The ZCPO reported that two victims of firecracker incidents were recorded by Police Stations 6 and 7 as of Thursday, Dec. 27. All the victims were minors.
