BAGUIO City Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan reminded residents and visitors not to indiscriminately use firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials in welcoming the year 2019 to prevent them from being exposed to hazards that could lead to the loss of parts of their bodies or even their sense of sight in extreme cases.
The local chief executive urged residents and visitors to embrace other forms of creating noise in their homes t6o welcome the new year so that they will be spared from whatever incidents that could compromise their safety during the expected revelry by midnight of December 31, 2019.
“We were able to make headway in our attempt to lessen the injuries inflicted by the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials during the New Year revelry that is why we remain firm in our position not to allow the sale of firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials in any part of the city over the past several years,” Domogan said.
He ordered the personnel of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) to intensify their operations against the sale of firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials in the city public market.
Domogan said the decision imposing a ban on the sale of firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials in the city was a difficult one that he had to make over five years ago because of intense lobbying by a group of vendors that had been involved in the said business for over a decade now.
Domogan said there had been a consistent decline in people using firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials in welcoming the new year over the past several years that is why the number of individuals who had been injured for using such dangerous items had continue to decrease.
The mayor has invited residents and visitors to join the community fireworks displace at the Melvin Jones grandstand a few hours before midnight of December 31.
The activity is initiated by the City Government of Baguio. (PR)