MANILA, Philippines — The number of firecracker-related injuries in the country surpassed 300 on Friday, according to data from the Department of Health.
The latest figure was 62% higher than last year’s 189 fireworks-related injuries, but it was 3% lower than the five-year average of 317 cases.
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Eighty percent of the cases were male, and 17% were allegedly intoxicated at the time of the injury.
Only seven percent of the cases had blast or burn injuries that resulted in amputation.
No deaths and incidents of firework ingestion were reported.
The number of validated stray bullet injuries remained at one. However, there were two reported stray bullet incidents in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Calabarzon. The Philippine National Police is investigating the incidents, the DOH said.
The top causes of injuries were kwitis (65), boga (33), 5-Star (23), unknown firecrackers (18) and fountain (17).
Forty-six percent of the cases were recorded in Metro Manila (140), followed by Western Visayas (37), Ilocos region (33), and Central Luzon (24).
“We remind our countrymen that firecrackers can cause harm... especially to the young people. So avoid using them, especially the illegal firecrackers,” Vergeire said. — Gaea Katreena Cabico