By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan | Philippine News Agency
The Philippine National Police (PNP) is intensifying its crackdown on the rampant sale of prohibited firecrackers online to minimize risks of injuries or death during the New Year revelries.
PNP chief PGen. Rommel Francisco Marbil said Wednesday he has directed the Civil Security Group (CSG) and the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) to intensify their monitoring and go after these sellers.
“As for the ACG, they are conducting cyber patrols. Our CSG, meanwhile, is in charge of issuing permits to transport. However, those using motorcycles, they don’t have any permits to transport these firecrackers. These are dangerous and cannot be easily imported,” he said on the sidelines of an inspection of firecracker stalls in Bocaue, Bulacan.
Marbil said the police would conduct regular inspections and monitoring to prevent the sale of illegal firecrackers.
“We will confiscate them. We have a list and the police know what these illegal firecrackers are. These are harmful as these can cause fires,” he added.
The PNP identified the following firecrackers as illegal:
- Piccolo
- Super Lolo
- Atomic Triangle
- Large Judas Belt
- Large Bawang
- Pillbox
- Bosa
- Goodbye Philippines
- Bin Laden
- Mother Rocket
- Lolo Thunder
- Coke In Can
- Atomic Bomb
- Five Star
- Pla-Pla
- Giant Whistle Bomb
- Goodbye Napoles
- Hello Columbia
- Goodbye De Lima
- Super Yolanda
- Kingkong
- Goodbye Bading
- Kabasi
- Hamas
- Watusi
These illegal firecrackers are usually overweight, which means they contain more than 1/3 teaspoon or more than 0.2 grams of explosives and do not have proper markings, especially the address and name of the manufacturer.
A standard fuse of a firecracker or fireworks should also not burn in less than three seconds but not more than six seconds.
Marbil said they are also continuously monitoring illegal manufacturers of fireworks.
CSG Director Police Maj. Gen. Leo Francisco, meanwhile, warned against the sale of firecrackers and fireworks online.
“Online selling is prohibited under the law with regards to these firecrackers. We are not sure of the quality of these firecrackers or whether these are compliant with safety standards,” he said.
Francisco said they are coordinating with online shopping platforms where sellers of illegal firecrackers usually thrive.
He said the illegal sale of firecrackers not only poses health threats but also affects legitimate manufacturers and the entire fireworks industry.