New Year injuries plunge 68%

MANILA, Philippines — With more people taking the firecracker ban seriously, the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 105 firecracker-related injuries on New Year’s Eve – a 68 percent drop in cases from last year.

“We are relatively pleased that we have recorded a 68 percent reduction in cases. ‘Relatively,’ because there are still injuries reported, but ‘pleased’ because of the substantial reduction,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a press conference.

He said while the number of firecracker-related injuries has been going down over the years, this is by far the biggest reduction seen by the DOH. He attributed this to the ban implemented by the Duterte administration under Executive Order No. 28.

During the same period last year, the DOH documented a total of 413 cases.

But Duque said the DOH will not be satisfied until there is zero injury from firecrackers. Because of this, they are looking at pushing for a total ban on firecrackers across the country.

Malacañang welcomed the drop in firecracker-related injuries and expressed hope that no one would be injured or killed in next year’s revelries. 

“We’re elated and we hope next year it will be no casualties and injuries at all,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a text message.

Roque said the New Year celebrations were happy despite the restrictions in the use of firecrackers.

“We just proved that despite the significant reduction in the use of firecrackers, our countrymen were still happy. There is no need for fingers or hands to be cut, there is no need to lose one’s eyes to be happy during new year,” the spokesman said in Filipino over radio dzMM. 

Piccolo caused most injuries

Piccolo remained the leading cause of injuries, with over a hundred wounded by this banned firecracker during the New Year revelry around the country.             

It was followed by kwitis (sky-rocket) with 14 cases, unknown firecrackers with 12 cases, fountain with 10 cases and boga (canon made from PVC pipe) with nine cases.

Sixty-year-old Edmundo Roxas lost vision in his  left eye after it was injured by an exploding bag of piccolo at 12:30 a.m. yesterday near his house in Molino, Cavite.        

Roxas was about to greet a neighbor when a boy threw the paper bag in his direction. Now Roxas fears his injury would affect his livelihood.

Most of those injured in Pangasinan who had lit piccolo were aged 10 to 19, provincial health officer physician Anna Ma. Teresa de Guzman told The STAR. Twenty-four of them were male, she said.

Dagupan City, where a fireworks display went wrong, accounted for 25 other injuries.

Reports gathered by The STAR showed that the fireworks exploded downwards instead of up, hurting some spectators.

In Bulacan, 12 were injured by piccolo.

At least 17 were injured by piccolo in Bicol. Jimbo Guerrero, Bicol DOH coordinator on Aksyon Paputok Injury Reduction Campaign 2017, said 13 persons were injured on Dec. 31 while four were wounded on Jan. 1.

Meanwhile, the wings of an angel at the Mount Carmel Parish belen in Malilipot, Albay were torched last Saturday after a teenage boy lit a piccolo by the nativity scene, Senior Insp. Arthur Gomez, police provincial information officer, told The STAR.

Chinese national Koh Dong, 48, sustained wounds in his right hand after lighting a piccolo in Surigao del Norte.

Another piccolo victim in Surigao del Norte was Christopher Cerda, 19. 

Holding people responsible

Meanwhile, four persons in Iloilo City, including a village official, might be slapped with charges for violating the law against the use of firecrackers.

Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) may charge the suspects for violating Republic Act 7183 (Firecracker Law) or EO 28, Senior Insp. Shella Mae Sangrines said.

She said they are also mulling charges against the parents or guardians of victims of firecracker-related injuries.

Curiosity got the better of a 12-year-old boy from Quezon City who may lose two fingers in his right hand due to pla-pla, a giant triangular firecracker, that he and his friends played with early yesterday morning.

According to Erich Tumpalan, one of his friends found a pla-pla while they were playing in their neighborhood at around 7 a.m. yesterday and decided to ignite it.

Tumpalan said after his friend lighted the pla-pla he covered it with an empty milk can. 

Since the firecracker did not explode right away, Tumpalan lifted the cover.

“I thought it would not explode anymore so we wanted to light it again,” he told The STAR in Filipino.

Tumpalan’s middle and ring fingers were mangled. He also suffered minor wounds on his face and doctors at the East Avenue Medical Center where he was rushed would be examining if his eyesight was affected. 

Meanwhile, police arrested a security guard for indiscriminate firing in Quezon City at 12:30 a.m. yesterday. – Alexis Romero, Eva Visperas, Cesar Ramirez, Ramon Efren Lazaro, Raymund Catindig, Celso Amo, Gilbert Bayoran, Ben Serrano, Jennifer Rendon, Ric Sapnu, Romina Cabrera