Dumaguete Council lets mayor sign MOA on firecrackers zone

CEBU, Philippines – After long debates, the City Council finally approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a memorandum of agreement with a group of Muslim traders for the use of a portion of Colon Street as a firecrackers zone in December.

Councilors Antonio Remollo and Manny Arbon, however, questioned the legality of granting such authority for the closure of the sidewalks of Colon Street, citing the Local Government Code which mandates that such shall be in the form of an ordinance, and not by a resolution.

Remollo suggested to the proponents that, to make things easier, a barangay ordinance would suffice for approval of the City Council instead of a city ordinance that will have to go through review by the Provincial Board. For as long as everything is placed in its proper perspective, there will be no problems on legality, he said.

City Legal Officer Neil Ray Lagahit, however, explained it would be premature to say that the granting of the authority violates a memorandum circular issued by the Department of Interior and Local Government because there are no stalls being constructed yet in the area.

A provision of DILG memo circular 2013-147 states that it is the responsibility of the firecracker seller to provide a fire wall that can resist fire for at least two hours, along with other pertinent regulations as provided for by the Fire Code of the Philippines, among others. “We will only know the violations if the stalls are constructed without firewall,” Lagahit told the council.

Jafar Macaager, representing the Muslim traders in the city, however, assured the city government that they will abide by all the safety requirements to do business in the city. They have been in this business for many years and they are only asking for 11 days in a year to sell firecrackers in the area, he said.

The traders vowed to police their own ranks and make sure of safety and security in the area, while self-regulating the types of firecrackers sold, said Macaager, adding that they underwent training and seminar on firecracker selling, complete with license from Camp Crame to sell the items.

Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria said the designated firecracker zone was recommended by the fire marshal himself due to its proximity to the Fire Department for easy monitoring of the selling activity, the absence of residential buildings in the area and accessibility to the public.

Sagarbarria added that all sellers of firecrackers will conduct their business only in the designated firecrackers zone.