LINGAYEN—In case President Rodrigo Duterte decides not to totally ban manufacture, sale and use of firecrackers in the country, a technical working group in the House of Representatives has started discussions on a proposed measure seeking to amend the existing law.

This was reported by Second District Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil, who heads the technical working group of the House committee on Public Order and Safety, on the first consultation meeting held in Bulacan province.

“Thousands of workers will be affected if (there will be) a total ban (of firecrackers),” Bataoil said as he cited the position of Bulacan government on the amendments to Republic Act No. 7183 which is to enforce strict safety regulation to prevent casualties and to set quality standards to sustain the industry.

The consultative meeting was held in Bulacan because it is considered as the center of firecrackers production in the country.

Among the salient provisions of the draft proposed bill include:

1) Use of firecrackers or pyrotechnic devices shall not be allowed in densely populated residential areas.  The local government units (LGUs) shall identify a zone or designate an area in their respective territorial jurisdiction where residents may use firecrackers or conduct fireworks display.

2) Several factors should be considered in the identification of such areas, i.e., population of communities, distances to fire stations, schools, etc.

3)  Firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices shall bear labels indicating the name and address of their manufacturers and distributors, and warning instructions written in Filipino and English.

4) Absolute prohibition to minors.

5) Fire Safety Inspection Certificate issued by the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) shall be made pre-requisite for the issuance of license or permit from the PNP Firearms and Explosive Division.

6) DOLE shall promulgate safety measures for workers engaged in different stages of manufacture to prevent undue exposure to occupational/health hazards that may be encountered by workers in the fireworks industry.

“Several meetings will be held before we will complete our technical working group report for submission to Committee on Public Order and Safety chaired by Cong. Romeo Acop,” Bataoil said. (Tita Roces)

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