CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- An official from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Central Luzon asked Tuesday the national government to exclude some types of fireworks from the proposed firecracker ban.
DTI-Central Luzon Director Judith Angeles said that the implementation of a total firecrackers ban may lessen the essence of celebrating New Year's Eve in the country.
She stressed that lighting of fireworks has become a tradition of every Filipino family as a way of welcoming the coming year.
She cited the use of fountains and other low-cost luminescent fireworks which are only used for illumination and do not pose severe danger to the public.
Angeles also said that enforcement of a total firecrackers ban will affect the livelihood of manufacturers, especially in Bulacan province.
According to her, there are around 400 registered firecracker manufacturers in the whole region as of December 2016.
Angeles urged President Rodrigo Duterte and the national government to carefully study the bill and consider the concerned sectors before its implementation.
She added that the DTI is willing to coordinate and integrate its program for entrepreneurs who will be affected once the program will be enforced.
During the 2016 campaign, President Duterte took pride in the absence of firecracker-related injuries in Davao City due to the existing ordinance banning the manufacture, sale, distribution, possession, or use of firecrackers or pyrotechnic devices in the city since 2002.
He also expressed his plans to replicate it nationwide to make the celebration of New Year's Eve in the country injury-free.