ABOUT 71 firecracker vendors in Bacolod City secured special permits to sell at the firecracker zone behind the Pope John Paul II Tower at the Reclamation Area in the city.
Executive Assistant Ernie Pineda, head of the market coordinating and monitoring task group, said Thursday, November 28, most of the vendors already constructed their stalls at the firecracker zone.
He said the vendors should construct their stalls first, then their documents will be forwarded to the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) for the approval of the Police Regional Office-Western Visayas.
“Their stalls will be inspected by the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to ensure its compliance with the fire safety and the PRO-6 also required the vendors to submit their application until November 30,” he added.
Pineda noted that only those who underwent fireworks safety seminar, which was held in Bacolod City last year, can sell fire crackers and other pyrotechnics devices.
“Those vendors selling outside the identified firecracker zone will be penalized, and their products will be confiscated,” Pineda said.
The firecracker vendors can display their products until December 31.
Last year, a total of 72 firecracker vendors secured a special permit in the city.
Meanwhile, more than 40 villages in Bacolod already submitted the lists of their identified fireworks display areas for the holiday season.
Pineda said the villages were required to submit their identified fireworks display areas as part of the implementation of Executive Order No. 28 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte to regulate and control the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnics devices.
He said most of the identified fireworks display areas are the basketball courts and open spaces.
He added the residents can use firecrackers like baby rocket, bawang, el diablo, judas belt, paper caps, pulling of string, sky rocket, small triangulo in the identified community fireworks display areas while the pyrotechnic devises they can use at home are butterfly, fountain, luces, roman candle, sparklers, whistle devices, among others.
Violators of EO No.28 will be fined P20,000 to P30,000 or imprisonment of one to six years./MAP