Duterte eyes executive order for total firecracker ban

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said he would issue an executive order banning the use of firecrackers despite the drop in the number of injuries during the New Year celebration.

"I will issue the executive order this early para warning na doon sa lahat that I am banning firecracker altogether,"  he said in a speech in San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan.

"I will ban firecrackers. Wala na...Maski isang bata mawalan ng kamay. So as a president why would I allow it?"

He then rejected the popular belief that the sound of firecrackers would drive away evil spirits.

Malacañang said last year that Duterte wanted Congress to pass a law "at the soonest time possible" on the firecracker ban.

The President has so far issued Executive Order 28, which regulates the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices, limiting it only to fireworks display within a community to minimize the risk of injuries and casualties.

Duterte, who had banned firecrackers when he was Davao City mayor, also ordered in October last year the suspension of processing of new licenses and permits for the manufacture, sale and distribution of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices.

He also directed the confiscation and destruction of prohibited firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices as well as firecrackers used outside community fireworks displays in violation of EO 28 which was issued in June 2017.

Duterte's pronouncement came even as the Department of Health reported that the number of firecracker-related injuries during New Year celebration for 2019 has declined by 68 percent.

The government has been discouraging Filipinos from lighting firecrackers to welcome the New Year, due to the risks these materials pose to public health. — BAP, GMA News