PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) No. 28, regulating the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices, which may not be as strict as the Davao City ban, but is a concrete step to finally put a stop to the needless injuries suffered every end and start of the year.
“It is a Filipino tradition to use firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices to celebrate events of personal, religious, cultural and national importance. As there continues to be a substantial number of firecracker-related injuries, even casualties, recorded every year, some involving mere bystanders, the promulgation of stricter national standards, rules and regulations is warranted,” the EO released Wednesday reads.
Among others, the EO only allows community fireworks that will be held under the supervision of a trained person licensed by the Philippine National Police. It can only be allowed with a permit for a specific date and time issued by the local government unit in an area that conforms to national standards, rules and regulations.
The existing firecracker ban covers all other pyrotechnic devices. The EO is effective immediately.
We are sure that the firecracker industry of Bocaue, Bulacan will again raise a big howl, after all, making firecrackers is an industry there. But all we can say is that an industry that has historically injured and killed hundreds every year should have been stopped several lifetimes ago.
For how important is the livelihood of a few that merits the injury, even disability of hundreds and the spending of millions of pesos for treatment every year? No. This industry is not as important, and no emotional blackmail should merit the encouragement of this industry to grow.
Time and again, it has been shown that firecrackers hurt and maim and no amount of warning could stop the injuries. By what powers has such industry continued to prosper that it has even nurtured an underground industry where the more powerful firecrackers are being made.
The Davao City Council passed the ordinance banning the use and sale of all types of firecrackers and pyrotechnics in 2002, after erstwhile Davao City Mayor Duterte ordered a ban through an executive order during the Christmas season of 2001. That's a total of 17 years of zero injuries, while the national figure goes up and down depending on law enforcers.
The National Government, however, could only go as far as reminding people not to play with firecrackers, always saying that banning will mean the displacement of people in the manufacturing side. Not anymore.
As it has been proven that the industry is injurious, there should have been steps a long time ago to wean Bocaue out of that industry. No one had the gumption to do so, only a government that cares for the people and the fingers of the little children.