Cabinet favors total firecracker ban

MANILA, Philippines – President Duterte may soon ban firecrackers totally nationwide, a Cabinet official indicated over the weekend.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Cabinet members had reached a consensus favoring a total ban on firecrackers to curb firecracker-related deaths and injuries in the country.

Bello lamented that many firecrackers manufacturers also hire children, one of the worst forms of child labor.

“The consensus is to ban firecrackers and regulate the sale and use of pyrotechnics,” Bello said in an interview.

“The reason for the ban is most of the accidents that happened are a result of firecracker, while pyrotechnics are being run by technicians, so it’s less prone to accident,” Bello added.

Duterte earlier said he would consult members of his Cabinet and let them decide on a possible ban on firecrackers.

He said full economic impact of total ban on firecrackers must be determined first.

Duterte successfully enforced a firecracker ban in Davao, when he was still mayor there.        

Bello said aside from causing deaths and injuries during the Christmas and New Year celebrations, the firecracker industry commonly employs children.

He said based on a study by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), children naturally join their parents who work in the firecracker manufacturing firms to augment their families’ income.

The DOLE said there is no data yet as to the number of workers in the firecracker industry.

Employment in the firecracker industry is considered one of the worst forms of child labor, the department said.

If a total ban is imposed, DOLE said, firecracker enterprises and workers would be affected – thus, the need to provide alternative employment opportunities in Central Luzon and Western and Central Visayas, where most firecracker manufacturing firms operate.

Bello said he had ordered regional offices of his department in Central Luzon and Central Visayas to immediately conduct inspections of firecracker manufacturing firms and enterprises prior to the government ban.