THERE are more than 120 Community Fireworks Display Designated Areas (CFDDAs) in Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, for the New Year celebrations.
The Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) on Friday, December 29, released a list showing 71 CFDDAs in the city.
Executive Assistant Ernesto Pineda, chief coordinator of Market Coordinating and Monitoring Task Force, said 45 of the 61 barangays submitted the lists of their identified CFDDAs.
“Those barangays which failed to submit a list of CFDDAs are not allowed to use firecrackers within their community or else, they will be fined or arrested,” he said.
In Bacolod, the Police Station 1 has four CFDDAs under its jurisdiction; Police Station 2, 10; Police Station 3, six; Police Station 4, 10; Police Station 5, three; Police Station 6, 10; Police Station 7, seven; Police Station 8, 16; Police Station 9, three; and Police Station 10, two.
The list released by the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office as of Thursday showed at least 50 CFDDAs in the 31 cities and municipalities in the province.
Based on the lists released by the Negros Occidental and Bacolod Police, the identified CFDDAs mostly include basketball courts, parks, public plazas, multi-purpose courts, and vacant lots.
The identification of the CFDDAs is based on Executive Order No. 28 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte, providing for the regulation and control of the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnics devices.
EO No. 28 authorizes local chief executives to promulgate the necessary rules and regulations on firecrackers and other pyrotechnics devices within their territorial jurisdiction in conformity with the national standards, rules, and regulations.
Senior Superintendent Rodolfo Castil Jr., provincial police director, had earlier said the conduct of community fireworks display inside the firecracker zone or community fireworks display zone shall be under the supervision of a trained person duly-licensed by the police as fireworks display operator.
Chief Inspector Lester Leada, deputy chief of Operations and Plans Unit of BCPO, had also said that firecrackers such as ‘baby rocket,’ ‘bawang,’ ‘el diablo,’ ‘judas belt,’ ‘paper caps,’ ‘pulling of strings,’ ‘sky rocket’ or ‘kwitis,’ small ‘trianggulo, ‘ and other types should be used in identified firecrackers zones of the barangay.
He added that only pyrotechnic devices, which utilize visuals such as colored lights, flames, smoke, sparks, flashes, are allowed within the house.
Violators of EO No. 28 will be fined from P20,000 to P30,000 or face an imprisonment of one to six years.
Pineda said Bacoleños should be aware of their identified CFDDAs to avoid penalties because anybody can report the names of the violators to the police.
“They should ask their barangay officials of their designated CFDDAs,” he said.
Pineda reminded the public not to use firecrackers in any area to avoid penalties and charges.