Palace to seek common stand on firecracker ban

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang yesterday called on all stakeholders to hold consultations soonest to come up with safer alternatives to welcome the New Year.

“Every New Year’s Day, we are greeted with headlines on hundreds of injured persons as a result of firecracker explosions, as well as casualties from stray bullets. We believe that there should be an alternative to this unfortunate scenario,” Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office said at his regular press briefing.

“We can ill afford to wait for another New Year’s Day celebration marred by similar injuries or deaths. Hence, we call on all stakeholders to reach a common stand on safer alternatives for celebrating New Year’s Day through local ordinances or enactment or amendment of existing national laws,” he added.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona sought a total ban on firecrackers after reporting 600 firecracker-related injuries on New Year’s Eve.

Coloma said stakeholders should begin their consultations to weigh the concerns of firecracker manufacturers and the harmful effects of firecrackers to human beings and the environment.

He noted that some local government units have been successful in implementing a ban on firecrackers.

Thousands will go hungry

Firecracker manufacturers and dealers, however, warned that thousands would go hungry if the proposed total ban on firecrackers will push through.

The ban will affect at least 100,000 pyrotechnics stakeholders in Bulacan, excluding dealers and small retailers, said Vimmie Erese, Philippine Pyrotechnics Manufacturers and Dealers Association Inc., (PPMDAI) president.

“Many of our stakeholders depend on their sales during the last month of the year. It’s the only time they earn better,” she said over Radyo Bulacan yesterday.

Erese told The STAR that proponents of the firecracker ban should consider the livelihood of those who will be affected.

She said the DOH should also take into account the type of firecrackers that cause injury.

The PPMDAI has been conducting safety seminars for manufacturers, dealers and retailers across the country, as well as with the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Illegally manufactured

Celso Cruz, president emeritus of the PPMDAI, noted that illegally manufactured pyrotechnics products caused most of the injuries.

He said the chemical content of legally made firecrackers, which is less than a teaspoon, is not enough to cause injuries.

“It is very clear that oversized and illegally manufactured products are the ones that caused injuries, but the whole industry is blamed for every injury,” he said.

Low sales

The sale of firecrackers and pyrotechnics also remained low due to low production, according to Erese. She said production was down to at least 40 percent compared to last year.

She said there are not enough raw materials like chemicals from police accredited dealers, and the required paper materials.

She said this explains why many stores in Bocaue have closed shop early.

She said the sale of smuggled and imported pyrotechnics products are also affecting local production.

When asked if sellers of imported and smuggled products made bigger sales before the end of 2013, Erese said “most likely.”

Cruz earlier said at least 50 percent of pyrotechnics products sold in Bocaue are smuggled or imported, 30 percent are illegally manufactured, while members of the PPMDAI legally produce only 20 percent.

No mass displacement

However, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) dismissed the possibility of mass displacement of workers due to a firecracker ban.

“Workers will not be losing their jobs because they will still be producing fireworks like fountains and not firecrackers that are very dangerous,” Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said.

She said the DOLE has also been requiring firecracker manufacturers to follow occupational health and safety measures.

“We have occupational health and safety regulations to follow. They are there to prevent any work-related accidents that might occur due to negligence and carelessness. In the case of pyrotechnics manufacture, utmost care is important since it is classified as a hazardous process,” she said.

Baldoz said the Occupational Health and Safety Standards prohibit manufacturers from keeping explosive chemicals for more than 48 hours.

She said construction plans of manufacturing plants should also be submitted to the PNP for approval, and furnished to the DOLE regional office with jurisdiction over the plant.

Baldoz said a copy of the Occupational Safety and Health Standards can be downloaded and viewed at the official website of the Occupational Safety and Health Center, an attached agency of DOLE.

Sotto, Poe support ban

Meanwhile, Senators Vicente Sotto III and Grace Poe aired their support for proposals to either prohibit or regulate the use of firecrackers in the country.

“Firecrackers are the reason the firing of guns is unresolved and not stopped. They go together,” Sotto said. “If there are no firecrackers, it’s easy to pinpoint and identify the firing of guns.”

He said a total ban on firecrackers is seen to end accidents during New Year’s Eve.

Sotto and Poe said firecrackers should only be used in official designated areas.

A bill to limit the use of firecrackers to designated areas in every barangay was filed by Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

Poe said that it would be up to the local government units to come up with designated areas for fireworks, with the passage of local ordinances.

“I think it will be better to confine fireworks in official designated areas. Aside from the dangers of fireworks related accidents, the smoke and pollution brought about by these is harmful especially to the elderly, the very young and asthmatics,” she said.

Not unconstitutional

DOH Undersecretary Janet Garin has belied the pronouncement of Citizens Battle Against Corruption party-list Rep. Sherwin Tugna that a ban on firecrackers is unconstitutional.

She said the DOH, in pushing for the ban, is just fulfilling its mandate of protecting people’s health.

Tugna said the ban would also be unfair to Filipinos who depend on the firecracker industry for a living.

Garin, however, noted that since the firecracker industry is a “seasonal business,” it is not the main source of livelihood of many people. With Aurea Calica, Marvin Sy, Mayen Jaymalin, Sheila Crisostomo