THE Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) recorded zero firecracker-related injuries in Davao City during Christmas and New Year celebrations.
SPMC chief Dr. Ricardo Audan said SPMC remains to maintain its zero firecrackers and stray bullet-related casualty for the past four consecutive years.
Audan attributed this to City Ordinance 060-02 of 2002, which prohibits the manufacture, sale, distribution, possession, use, as well as transport of pyrotechnic devices and explosives within the city’s territorial jurisdiction.
He added that the sanction and imprisonment clause of the ordinance had also been a “strong factor” why most Dabawenyos would shy away from attempting to use firecrackers during the celebration of Christmas and New Year.
The ordinance was enacted under the then mayor and current president, Rodrigo Duterte, who also wanted it implemented nationwide.
"Davao City has been very successful on this city ordinance," Audan told SunStar Davao in a phone interview.
Audan also said not even one from neighboring provinces was rushed to the hospital due to firecracker injury, but they had recorded previous patients from outside the city.
The SPMC head also attributed the Covid-19 restrictions on mass gatherings as a factor for the zero cases on firecracker injuries.
Meanwhile, Island Garden City of Samal Mayor Al David Uy prohibited fireworks on the island on New Year due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The mayor said the city will not allow it for now due to the economic impact of the pandemic.
The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) apprehended two individuals and rescued three minors on New Year's Day for firecracker possession.
Aguilar told SunStar Davao in a phone interview on Sunday, January 2, that the apprehended individuals, residing in an undisclosed area in Bunawan District, were caught by authorities around 12:30 a.m. of New Year's Day, January 1, 2022.
The police had also confiscated 53 improvised pyrotechnics or cannons and two boxes of pyrotechnics, the DCPO official said.
The confiscated items were not yet exploded during the arrest.
She said they intensified their monitoring in far-flung areas outside downtown.