Time to ban firecrackers

IT is time for the Dagupan City government to consider completely banning the manufacture, sale and use of firecrackers in the city.

For all intents and purposes, there is no firecracker industry in Dagupan City that needs to be protected. There is only one licensed firecracker manufacturer in the city and the so-called stakeholders in the industry are illegal manufacturers who have no regard for city residents’ safety.

There is no reason, therefore, to protect the sole manufacturer who can easily relocate.

The city should not continue to risk limbs and lives of Dagupeños particularly children while allowing the severe pollution of the air that causes and aggravates respiratory health issues of residents.

The firecrackers being sold in the black market have become so dangerous that if not correctly manufactured and used, the victims are likely to lose not only their limbs but their eye sights if not their lives.

To short circuit the process, the city government can look into the ordinance of Davao City and its successful enforcement. It is working for that city, there’s no reason why Dagupeños cannot enjoy the same benefits.

The time is now for the city government to adopt that same ordinance.

Good omen

PERHAPS, we are the only country in the world that allows the sale of firecrackers for the New Year revelry. And then—irony of ironies—our police try their best to discourage us from igniting our “illegal” firecrackers on New Year’s eve. 

Alas, the “illegal” ones listed in Executive Order No. 28 still surreptitiously find their way into most homes of our folks.  Luckily for most communities, the 12,000 policemen deployed to monitor the New Year explosions in Metro Manila did their job well. 

Victims of firecracker accidents hit an all-time 68 percent decrease this year, with not a single stray bullet—thus far—from indiscriminate firing claiming neither life nor limb.  Divine intervention also played a key role as continuous drizzle helped stifle, if not snuff, the midnight sparks and explosions. 

May this good omen usher in a peaceful, prosperous and progressive life for everyone this year.

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