‘Illegal’ firecrackers seized at Batangas Port

BATANGAS CITY – The Philippine Coast Guard reported on Friday it has confiscated some 4,000 pieces of illegally shipped firecrackers at the Batangas Port. The firecrackers, identified as whistle bomb and kwitis, was discovered by a K9 bomb sniffing dog inside a compartment of a Dimple Star Express bus. Lt. Senior Grade Gary Gimotea, coast guard public information officer, said that the firecrackers that the bus (Plate No. TWX-640) was originally bound to Iloilo aboard MV Starlite Navigator at around 3:30 pm when the items were seized. He said the shipment firecrackers were illegal since the items were not declared and they have no clearance from the Fires and Explosives Unit of the Philippine National Police, as required under Republic Act 7183. Violators of the law are subject to fines of P20,000 to P30,000 or six months to one year imprisonment depending on the court's discretion. The punishment also includes among others, cancellation of license and business permit and confiscation of stocks. Gimotea said the Coast Guard tried but failed to identify the owner of the seized firecrackers at the Batangas Port. Nobody also claimed the firecrackers, which made the Coast Guard declare it as abandoned. "This is a good score as far as the Coast Guard is concerned because we already know what might happen if these (firecrackers) may be used at a wrong purpose," said Coast Guard commandant Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, in an interview with GMANews.TV, minutes before they turned over the firecrackers to the Batangas Provincial Police on Friday for proper disposal. He likewise lauded the local Coast Guard for confiscating the firecrackers, noting that these are flammable in nature and may cause some accidents among ships sailing across the sea. "We don't want any other maritime incident to happen again, that's why we're becoming more vigilant. We are exploring all angles in order to prevent these things from happening," Tamayo said. - Marlon Alexander Luistro, GMANews.TV