Another crackdown
Authorities have released a list of banned firecrackers, and the city government of Manila has reportedly started monitoring the sale of the prohibited items.
As early as June this year, President Duterte had issued an executive order, limiting the use of firecrackers to community fireworks displays. Whether an EO can put an end to this holiday tradition remains to be seen. Even preventing the sale of banned firecrackers has always been half-hearted. So has enforcement of safety standards in the pyrotechnics industry.
Every Christmas season, police confiscate banned firecrackers and present the seized items to the media. Yet when the holiday revelry rolls around, the banned items reemerge. Why else have hospitals continued to treat injuries resulting from the use of banned items such as piccolo and pla-pla? Every year, powerful firecrackers in the shape of giant triangles keep popping up on sidewalk stalls, with names based on the year’s most controversial or notorious individual.
Major players in the pyrotechnics industry have stressed the importance of subjecting themselves to regulation and abiding by product safety standards set by law so their businesses will not only survive but also thrive and even compete in the global market. The industry employs thousands of workers particularly in Bulacan.
But the industry has irresponsible members as well as an informal sector of micro players that have been resistant to regulation and continue to produce banned products. Corrupt local officials and enforcers allow the manufacturers to unload their products in the streets of Manila and other markets. Law enforcers must do better in seeing to it that the banned products do not reach consumers.
During the last New Year revelry, the Department of Health recorded 630 fireworks-related injuries and no deaths. This was 292 cases fewer than the count in the previous year, and a record low. The majority of the injuries were attributed to piccolo and five-star.
Local authorities must also see to it that workers in the industry do not work in hazardous conditions. Apart from risky handling of components that can explode, workers including children are directly exposed to toxic substances. Welcoming the New Year with a bang should not endanger personal safety or lead to long-term health risks. Safe revelry should not prove impossible.