New Year injuries more than double in 3 metro hospitals

MANILA, Philippines - The number of New Year revelry-related injuries recorded in three government hospitals in Metro Manila increased by nearly 120 percent, a health official said Wednesday.

From 6 p.m. on Tuesday to 6 a.m. today, a total of 161 firework injuries were reported from East Avenue Medical Center, Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, and Tondo Medical Center, according to Health Assistant Sec. Eric Tayag.

He said this was 119-percent higher than the number of injuries during the same period in last New Year revelry.

6:00 AM jan 1 Total FW injuries from East Ave, Jose Reyes, Tondo Med Center at 161 #APIRquickcount @DOHgovph ; In 2012: 73 (119% higher)

— Doc Eric Tayag (@erictayagSays) December 31, 2013

In an interview over radio dzMM, Tayag said most of the injuries was caused by the banned firecracker piccolo.

Tayag said the Department of Health (DOH) will provide its nationwide tally of firework-related injuries later at 11 a.m.

On Tuesday, Tayag said the DOH was expecting 50 to 80 firework-related injuries every hour starting 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. on New Year's Day.

As of 6 a.m. Tuesday, 253 firework-related injuries, eight stray bullet cases, and one case of firecracker ingestion have been recorded nationwide.

Of the 253 injuries, 164 were caused by the illegal firecracker piccolo.

In Cebu City, an eight-year-old lost his right hand to the firecracker rebentador while a 40-year-old from Quezon City became the first female stray bullet.

Tayag said the first female stray bullet victim was from Barangay Holy Spirit, which was listed as one of the most dangerous areas for firecracker injuries.

The official had said that Quezon City is the most dangerous city in Metro Manila for firework injuries followed by Pasig, Mandaluyong, Valenzuela, Marikina, Manila and Las Piñas.

He said this list of cities was based on the number of most dangerous barangays for firework injuries and number of firecracker injuries in these villages.

The cities that do not have barangays that are most dangerous to firework injuries include Malabon, Caloocan, Makati, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pateros, San Juan and Taguig.

Tayag added that the most dangerous list of areas for firework injuries was based on the greatest number of reported injuries from 2010 to 2012.

PNP reports

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police has recorded a total of 132 firecracker related incidents since Dec. 30 up to New Year's Day, an official said on Wednesday

In a radio interview, Senior Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, PNP public information office head, said that as of 7 a.m. Jan. 1, 2014, police have monitored 47 more incidents on top of the 85 cases last Dec. 30.

Of the incidents, 94 people were hurt due firecracker blasts while 13 were hit by stray bullets, the PNP official said.

Sindac said the figures tallied by the PNP are different from those being collected by the Department of Health which received and directly treated the victims of firecracker blasts.

Meanwhile, Sindac said a total of 32 persons were nabbed for selling illegal firecrackers or for indiscriminate firing.

Of the arrested individuals, 25 were civilians while four were PNP personnel, a soldier, a prison guard and a security guard.

During the "Iwas Paputok/Disgrasya" campaign of the PNP, a total of 13,692 various firecrackers were confiscated worth P1.36 million.