Monday, January 05, 2009 Firecracker victims down by 20%
THE number of firecracker-related incidents in Negros Occidental significantly decreased this year, the Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office (Noppo) reported.
A report from Noppo said that after recording a zero firecracker-related incident during the Christmas revelry, 44 victims of firecracker blasts and burns from the 12 cities and 19 municipalities of Negros Occidental were noted during the New Year revelry.
The figure dropped by 20 percent from the 56 cases recorded last year. There were 64 incidents reported in 2006.
Senior Inspector Rico Santotome Jr., Noppo public information officer, said 32 of these victims were minors, including two 3-year-old children in Talisay City and Cauayan town.
The firecracker-related injuries include seven in Hinigaran, Himamaylan - 7, Bago City - 5, Cadiz City - 4, Cauayan - 4, La Carlota City - 3, Pulupandan - 3, Valladolid - 3, Sagay - 1, Kabankalan - 1, Candoni - 1, and Hinoba-an-1, four from the Teresita Jalandoni Memorial Provincial Hospital in Silay City and 17 cases in Bacolod City.
The decrease in the number of firecracker blast victims was attributed to the efforts of the local police in the campaign for a safe revelry among Negrenses and in support of the 'Oplan Iwas-Paputok' drive of the Department of Health (DOH), said Senior Superintendent Manuel Felix, Noppo director.
Also, a total of 30 police operations were conducted in the province during the long holiday period that resulted in the seizure of more than P500,000 worth of banned firecrackers, including 300 boxes of Piccolo.
Ten people were also arrested for violating Republic Act 7183 or the Firecrackers Law and over 100 gun replicas confiscated in relation to Letter of Instructions 1264.
Meanwhile, Felix supervised the unsealing of the taped muzzles of policemen's firearms at the provincial headquarters in Camingawan to determine the compliance of Noppo personnel to the directives of the Philippine National Police (PNP) against indiscriminate firing during Christmas and New Year celebration.
