AT LEAST 52 firecracker-related injuries were reported in Negros Occidental during the New Year celebrations, records of the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) in Bacolod City showed.
Dr. Frank Tumaneng, coordinator of the CLMMRH Health Emergency Management Bureau, said Sunday the figures are based on the monitoring of firecracker incidents was from December 30, 2015 to January 2, 2016.
Five of the victims were admitted while the others were treated as outpatients, he said.
Most of the blast injuries were caused by luces, piccolo, five-star, whistle bomb, and unknown firecrackers, he said.
No victims of stray bullets were reported during the revelries in the city and the province.
Last year, 51 persons were injured by firecrackers in Negros Occidental.
Earlier, Dr. Julius Drilon, CLMMRH chief, said that they are targeting zero firecracker-related incidents during the holidays.
Drilon had said that they have been intensifying their campaign against the use of firecrackers during the celebrations of Christmas and the New Year.
The CLMMRH is a Department of Health (DOH) sentinel hospital. (MPE)