MANILA, Philippines — Eight persons were arrested for possession of illegal firecrackers in Bulacan on Friday.
Col. Manuel Lukban Jr., Bulacan police chief, said 10 packs of pla pla, seven packs of kabasi,1,000 pieces baby rockets,1,100 cylinder nitrate containers and marked money were recovered from the suspects.
Police identified the illegal firecrackers ahead of the New Year reverly.
These include watusi, piccolo, Poppop, five star, pla-pla, lolo thunder, giant bawang, giant whistle bomb, atomic bomb, super lolo, atomic triangle, Goodbye Bading, large-sized Judas belt, Goodbye Philippines, Goodbye de Lima, Bin Laden, Hello Columbia, Goodbye Napoles, Mother Rockets, Super Yolanda, pillbox, boga, kwitis and kabasi.
Lukban said several injuries were reported in Bulacan on Friday night until early yesterday morning, but none in Bocaue, which is known as the fireworks capital of the country.
One of the victims was a resident of Malolos who was injured while lighting a fountain.
Lukban said the provincial health office nine fireworks-related injuries in San Miguel, Pandi, San Jose del Monte, Obando, Norzagaray, Calumpit and Meycauayan.
Brig. Gen. Matthew Baccay, Central Luzon police director, said 10 persons were injured in Tarlac; six each in Bataan, Nueva Ecija and Pampanga; two in Zambales and one each in Angeles and Olangapo.
Baccay said five fire incidents were reported in Tarlac due to firecrackers.
He said no casualties were reported due to illegal discharge of firearms or stray bullets in Central Luzon.
In Negros Occidental, the Philippine National Police said five minors and three other persons were victims of firecracker-related injuries.
The incidents were reported in the cities of Escalante, Bago and San Carlos as well as the municipalities of EB Magalona and San Enrique, Lt. Abegael Donasco, provincial police deputy spokesperson, said.
Lt. Liberty Indiape, deputy spokesperson of the Bacolod City police, said three of those injured in the city were minors.
Police logged zero incidents of indiscriminate firing.
No injuries
Meanwhile, no firecracker-related injury was reported in Zamboanga City and Zamboanga del Sur.
Police said zero cases of illegal discharge of firearms were monitored.
“As of this day, we have no recorded incident of stray bullet as well as injury on firecracker-related incident,” Col. Rexmel Reyes said.
Police said the zero firecracker-related casualty has been observed for nine years now since the city approved an ordinance on the total ban of firecrackers and pyrotechnics in 2013.
Reyes said continuous monitoring has been implemented by 11 police stations in coordination with local government units and private hospitals.
No untoward incident was reported in Sulu.