In many places, it's been a surprisingly quiet New Year

Most Manila residents have grown up associating New Year's Eve with nightlong firecracker explosions, in some places lasting until dawn. In a few neighborhoods, the ear-splitting noise would begin days in advance. Now at nearly 3 in the morning on the first day of the year, they are getting used to a new experience: quiet. For the past hour, more than a hundred residents across the metropolis and in other parts of the country have reported via Twitter and Facebook that they were no longer hearing firecrackers. More than a few said that  as early as 1am their neighbors stopped the ritualistic detonations. "Less paputok, more pailaw. Sobrang sandali lang ng celebration considering we're from Bulacan," tweeted Arjae Avelino of Plaridel, Bulacan. Alma Mabaet of Baguio tweeted that "Usually paputok lasts until 6am, now just 1am." Eira Hassim of Baliuag, Bulacan tweeted that the only noise she could hear at 2:16 am was drunken singing on a videoke. Others said that more of their neighbors this year lit silent paper lanterns that floated upwards until they disappeared. "Ang cute tignan sa langit," tweeted Nadine Natiola of Santa Ana, Manila. Social media users from Pangasinan, Iloilo, Albay, Davao and Olongapo reported hearing even less or no firecracker noise. Davao City is known to strictly enforce a rare citywide firecracker ban. It might be too hasty to conclude that this represents a general pattern or the effect of a more aggressive campaign this year by health authorities to reduce firecracker use and injuries. But seven big Metro Manila government hospitals have reported fewer injuries so far, 108, compared to the 117 during last New Year's Eve. Health officials were highly visible in recent weeks exhorting the public to avoid lighting firecrackers and even offered an amusingly absurd alternative, an MP3 download of firecracker sounds. The health department spokesman Dr. Eric Tayag trended for a bit when he did an exuberant dance on a morning TV program as part of the department's advocacy, the cleverly titled "Apir," or Aksyon: Paputok Injury Reduction. Even President Aquino pitched in with an appeal. Monitoring the festivities around the city, Tayag himself tweeted at 1:56 am: "It was unusually quiet by 1:05AM." This reporter posted a query on Twitter and Facebook at 2 in the morning today (Sunday) asking users if they noted more or less firecracker use in their communities this year. The vast majority of the over 100 respondents said less, with nearly as many saying whatever firecracker use occurred ended much earlier than in previous years. "Grabe ang pagbaba ng paputok dito sa amin sa Tondo," Vince Fabi posted on Facebook. "Kung noon, pagtapos lang ng Pasko, putukan na, ngayon hindi na. Nagtagal lang din ng 20 mins after midnight. Then kainan." Tondo is a useful barometer for any overall trend because it is notorious for its firecracker mania on New Year's Eve. There was also a reminder that in some places, health officials didn't need to campaign. "Wala masyadong napapaputok dahil na rin sa trahedya na dala ng bagyong Sendong sa aming lugar," Milke Relovo of Cagayan de Oro said on Facebook. "Ang hirap kasing magsaya lalo na't alam namin na marami ang hindi makakapag-celebrate ng New Year, yung mga namatayan at nawalan ng tirahan." - Howie Severino, GMA News