Pyrotechnic confiscations reduce QC firecracker injuries by 80% –LGU

The confiscation of more than P500,000 worth of firecrackers reduced the number of pyrotechnic-related injuries in Quezon City by 80 percent, the QC government said in a Saturday statement.

According to Mayor Joy Belmonte, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) and the city’s Market Development and Administration Department (MDAD) seized various kinds of pyrotechnics worth P546,073.

Based on data from the Quezon City Health Department (QCHD), a total of seven fireworks-related injuries were reported by various hospitals in the city from December 21, 2020 up to 6 a.m. on January 2, 2021.

This was 80 percent fewer cases compared to the 35 firecracker-related incidents during the same period last year.

Furthermore, no deaths were reported, nor were there any gunshot wounds, stray bullet, and firecracker ingestion hospitalizations reported during the recent New Year celebrations.

“Titingnan natin ang pitong insidenteng ito kung may nangyaring paglabag sa dalawang ordinansa ng siyudad na may kinalaman sa paggamit at pagbebenta ng paputok ay agad tayong magsasampa ng kaukulang kaso,” said Belmonte.

Belmonte earlier ordered the strict enforcement of Ordinance No. SP 2618, S-2017, which prohibits the use of firecrackers in public places, Ordinance No. SP-2587, S-2017, which outlaws the selling, giving and sharing of any type of firecracker to minor children, and Metro Manila Council MMDA Resolution No. 20-17 prohibiting the individual and household use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices during a general community quarantine (GCQ). — DVM, GMA News