Marikina bans use of firecrackers, pyrotechnic devices; safety cited

AIMING to ensure the safety of Marikina residents this New Year amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, Marikina City Mayor Marcelino R. Teodoro ordered the ban of the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices in welcoming the New Year in the city.

With this, Marikina’s annual community-based fireworks display and concert will not push through this year as this constitutes mass gathering, posing coronavirus transmission peril among residents and spectators.

Marikina City is conducting the community- based fireworks display every year to prevent the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices to avoid death and other firecracker-related injuries during New Year revelry.

Teodoro said the order is in compliance with Resolution 19 of the Regional Peace and Order Council adopting the recommendation banning the use of firecrackers in the National Capital Region this New Year.

“I have issued an Executive Order prohibiting the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices in Marikina this New Year. This is to prevent the mass gathering of people and ensure the safety of our constituents,” he said.

“Our primordial concern is the health and safety of the public, we do not want them to get infected with coronavirus which has already claimed lives.”

The mayor said that an ordinance disallowing the use of firecrackers in the city will be passed by the Marikina City Council this week.

The city government will then soon announce the fines and penalties that the ordinance entails for violators of the firecracker ban in Marikina.

The recommendation to prohibit the use of firecrackers was in accordance with Republic Act 7183, which provides for the regulation and control of the manufacture, sale, distribution, and use of firecrackers to ensure the safety of the public.

Also, the mayor said that the resolution is parallel with the Department of the Interior and Local Government Memorandum Circulars providing the guidelines on the regulation and control of the use of the firecrackers, including the designation of specific areas for community fireworks display.

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, Marikina has imposed regulations on the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices during the New Year’s celebration by holding community fireworks displays at designated areas in the city.

Every year, thousands of residents and even people from nearby cities and provinces visit Marikina to attend in the city’s annual New Year’s concert organized by the local government.