Firecracker ban saves lives, property
THE decision of Bolinao Mayor Alfonso Celeste to impose a total ban on firecrackers and pyrotechnics is what Pangasinan’s mayors should consider adopting in their respective towns and cities.
Every year, we hear of the local police taking measures to ensure that no fatalities or injuries will be suffered by any family but there was never a year that passed when a family is not traumatized on seeing a child losing a finger or two, or their house is partially burned or even worse, to see its child succumbing the deadly impact of a banned firecracker.
These are the consequences of the negligence of parents and barangay officials, and the laxity of the police in strictly imposing the ordinance on the manufacture and use of firecrackers. It’s also no secret that some sneaky manufacturers and vendors prepare and reserve the highly dangerous types that produce the loudest explosion for special clients but the families, manufacturers, and vendors are never held to account by the police for their misdeeds after January 1, whether an injury was reported or not.
The argument that banning the manufacture of firecrackers in some towns and cities impact on the livelihood of the sector can no longer hold water in the face of the size of the sector and the price to be paid by residents because of its continued use for New Year revelry.
The timing of the decision of Mayor Celeste to impose the ban just barely a week before Christmas was politically risky since that could lose votes in 2025. But that he gave more value to saving lives and property shows the kind of political leadership he has. The town of Sto. Tomas has had a total ban in effect since 2013 and its residents have been kept safe since.
To mayors who believe it’s too late in the day to impose a ban, then January 2025 should be the next best time to do it. This will give the manufacturers, importers and vendors time to shift to another livelihood, and produce inventive alternatives to create noise to welcome a new year.
Meanwhile, we hope our communities across the province will work with the police and the Department of Health to achieve zero-injury celebration, particularly on New Year’s Eve.
Each citizen has a duty to chastise any family that’s intent on violating the firecracker ordinance, a barangay official, and a police officer who turns a blind eye.
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