DOH tries new tack on firecrackers

MANILA, Philippines - Still want to do the “high five?” Don’t use firecrackers and keep all of your fingers intact.

For the Department of Health (DOH), losing a finger from a firecracker blast is a senseless way to usher in the year 2012.

But to inculcate this in the public’s mind, the DOH stayed away from scare tactics in campaigning against firecrackers this year.

Instead, the DOH is trying a positive approach by urging the public to be creative in using other noise-making devices in celebrating the New Year.

The DOH embarked on the “Aksyon: Paputok Injury Reduction (APIR)” program whose campaign posters feature two hands doing the high five, where one of the hands is an adult’s while the other is that of a child but with gauze.

In the past, the DOH’s posters for its “Kontra Paputok” were highlighted by photographs of mangled and bleeding hands or feet and damaged eyes.

At one point, the DOH used a father and his son who each lost a hand from a “crying cow” that exploded as “poster boys” of the campaign.

DOH Assistant Secretary Dr. Eric Tayag said the “APIR” campaign was conceptualized by a task force composed of the DOH, Department of the Interior and Local Government and Department of Education and other agencies to convince the public not to use firecrackers to welcome the New Year “without scaring them.”

“We decided not to do our usual scare tactics. We are gambling on a campaign where we are not showing gory photographs. Maybe this way, we can convince the public not to use firecrackers anymore,” Tayag said.

The DOH locally adopted the high-five celebratory hand gesture where two people raise their hands and slap palms, locally known as “apir.”

Based on APIR’s surveillance records, there are 187 firecracker-related injuries since Dec. 21 and 13 of the victims suffered amputations, mostly on the hands. There were 27 eye injuries recorded while two were poisoned for ingesting pyrotechnics.

One of the latest victims is a 10-year-old boy from Nueva Ecija who picked up a whistle bomb that he thought was a dud. The boy suffered a mangled right hand, leaving only a portion of his little finger.

Records showed that 118 of the victims were “active users” of firecrackers. A total of 135 cases were caused by illegal firecrackers, 105 of them using piccolo.

The DOH in Cagayan Valley reported 10 cases of firecracker injuries since Christmas Day.

The DOH also recorded eight cases of victims of stray bullets. The data came from the 50 sentinel hospitals of the DOH across the country.

In the effort to discourage lawmen from indiscriminate firing, the Philippine National Police (PNP) ordered service firearms of all policemen covered with masking tape.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said the move was meant to support the government’s effort to avoid death and injuries caused by indiscriminate firing of guns.

Cruz said the measure is not a foolproof way to prevent errant lawmen from firing their guns to welcome the New Year, but “it reinforces the fact that firing of firearms to greet the New Year is quite dangerous to life and limb of innocent citizens and is against the law.”

Cruz also pointed out that the recent shooting incidents were not illegal discharge of firearms but are cases of homicide involving policemen.

“The incidents involving some rookie cops in gunplay are homicide cases, not illegal discharge of firearms,” Cruz said, referring to Police Officer 2 Bernardo Quintero who was killed while PO2 Jessie Adajar was injured when “snipers” attacked a police team checking on a stall selling illegal firecrackers in Fairview, Quezon City on Thursday.

Seizures

PNP chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome led policemen in confiscating illegal and oversized firecrackers in Bocaue, Bulacan yesterday.

“I ordered the closure of two stores in Bocaue after they were found to be selling illegal firecrackers and ordered the filing of case for violation of Republic Act 7183,” he said.

Bartolome also tasked the Central Luzon Police, particularly in Bulacan, to continue the inspection of stalls in Bocaue and other areas of Bulacan selling firecrackers and pyrotechnics.

The last minute raids on the row of stores in Bocaue led to the confiscation of over P100,000 worth of illegal firecrackers.

Raided were stores Bong and Lyn Fireworks; Allan Fireworks Store and Glady’s Fireworks Store.

Policemen seized oversized firecrackers such as Goodbye Philippines, kabasi, bawang, whistle bomb, super pla-pla, super lolo, Og, sawa, atomic bomb and piccolo.

In Isabela province, the police destroyed hundreds of thousands worth of firecrackers.

“We will start the safety campaign by seizing and destroying these illegally sourced firecrackers before it causes fire and injuries,” said Superintendent Antonio Marallag of the Isabela provincial police. –With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Charlie Lagasca, Dino Balabo, Raymund Catindig, Ric Sapnu