DOH warns buyers, users of banned, oversized firecrackers

MANILA, Philippines - An official of the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said those who threw the “Goodbye Philippines” firecracker that blew off the right leg of a 21-year-old man are criminally liable.

DOH Assistant Secretary Dr. Eric Tayag said those buying or using banned and oversized firecrackers such as “Goodbye Philippines” are liable under Republic Act 7183 or “An Act Regulating the Sale, Manufacture and Use of Firecrackers and other Pyrotechnic Devices.”

Tayag said the victim, whom he declined to identify, could choose to file criminal charges against the people who threw the oversized firecracker at him.

“When I paid him a visit, he (the victim) has an idea who were behind (the act)… the victim is a mason so his mother was at a loss on what will (now) happen to him. We’ll work so that he’ll have an artificial leg,” Tayag said.

Reports said the victim was urinating by an electric post outside his house in Bocaue, Bulacan when the giant firecracker exploded nearby shortly after midnight on Christmas Day.

Mansueto was rushed to Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center in Manila where his right leg was amputated from below the knee.

Authorities said the firecracker was a “Goodbye Philippines,” triangular shaped and measuring 10 inches on each side. It has been banned since it was introduced two years ago.

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said he would conduct an inspection himself on firecracker stores in Bocaue, Bulacan today.

Robredo said he is not taking chances on the compliance of firecracker manufacturers on safety regulations.

Robredo said the inspection was meant to prevent injuries and untoward incidents similar to 2010 when at least two fireworks factories in Bulacan exploded, one in the town of Baliuag and another in Angat.

No one was injured in the Baliuag blast, while one was killed and eight others were injured in the explosion in Angat, which also damaged several houses nearby.

Records from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) showed that in 2010, firecrackers caused about 50 fire incidents nationwide, up by 13 percent from the 2009 figures.

Robredo ordered the BFP to ensure accident-free revelries by immediately conducting fire safety inspection on all establishments in the country dealing with the manufacture, distribution and sale of firecrackers and other pyrotechnics.

Despite the crackdown on oversized firecrackers, the list of revelry-related injuries ahead of New Year’s Day increases by the day, with a young housewife wounded by a stray bullet in Caloocan City.

Police said Ginalyn Tomarong of Phase 6, Purok 4, Camarin was watching a fireworks display with her family when she was hit in the abdomen late Wednesday.

In Laguna, 17-year-old Sheryly Destejoo was also hit and wounded by a stray bullet in front of her house in Barangay Tunhac, Famy town.

A one-year-old girl was also hit by a stray bullet on her left foot inside their house in Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur on Christmas Day.

Police said Patricia Heart Lumayno Baligo was hit on the foot while she was being carried by her aunt Apple May Abalayan who noticed the victim bleeding.

Police said the bullet passed through the roof of the house and hit the victim’s foot.

Authorities in Pangasinan also reported three people, including two children, were hurt in a firecracker blast.

The government-owned Region 1 Medical Center (R1MC) in Pangasinan said they have already recorded 49 cases of firecracker-related injuries less than a week before New Year’s Day. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Jerry Botial, Ben Serrano, Eva Visperas, Ed Amoroso