BOCAUE, Bulacan, Philippines — From firecrackers to soap.
Fireworks industry workers in this town who were affected by President Duterte’s order regulating the sale and use of firecrackers will be provided skills training by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
Bocaue Mayor Eleanor Villanueva-Tugna told The STAR that TESDA training on soap-making started in Barangay Taal last Friday.
Tugna said TESDA would also conduct trainings in Barangay Caingin on Sept. 13; Tambubong, Sept. 20; Sulucan, Sept. 27, and Bambang, Oct. 3.
Firecracker manufacturers stopped or minimized production after the President issued an executive order allowing the use of firecrackers only for community fireworks displays.
Many stallholders in Bulacan, dubbed the firecracker capital of the Philippines, closed shop due to dismal sales.
According to the Pyrotechnic Regulatory Board of Bulacan, there are now only around 20,000 or fewer fireworks industry workers in Bulacan from a high of 100,000 in 2000.