Congress urged to revisit firecrackers law as New Year injuries rise

GMA News January 2, 2013 5:00pm

Almost four years ago, then-Senator Benigno Aquino III called for a probe on the implementation of the Philippines' law against firecrackers a few days after a firecracker factory in Cavite exploded, killing six people and injuring 70 others.

In 2009, Aquino filed Senate Resolution 877 seeking to revisit Republic Act (R.A.) 7183 or the Firecrackers Act, saying that “concerned authorities have failed to exercise and properly impose their regulatory power resulting in the endangerment of lives and properties.”

Now that Aquino is President, firecrackers both legal and illegal continue to cause injuries during the New Year revelry.

The latest records from the Department of Health (DOH) showed that at least 413 Filipinos—mostly children between 6 to 10 years old—were hurt during celebrations to welcome the year 2013.

DOH Secretary Enrique Ona said it is high time for Congress to revisit the country's two-decade-old law regulating the manufacture and use of firecrackers to prevent the loss of life and limb during the New Year celebration.

“The law has to be amended. We should begin dialogue with manufacturers and sellers of firecrackers. We should update this so we can end the yearly practive of counting injuries and deaths due to firecrackers,” Ona said in a phone interview.

He added that he particularly wants Congress to add a provision in R.A. 7183 that will require local government units to designate firecracker zones days before the New Year revelry.

“We can call this an area of entertainment. Every community, town or city should be required to designate an area where fireworks will be lighted by adults who understand how to do it right,” he said.

Light punishments


R.A. 7183 lists down types of firecrackers that can be manufactured, sold, distributed and used in the country. It also imposes a punishment of imprisonment from six months to a year and a fine of up to P30,000 for persons who violate this law.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima earlier said the “light” punishments prescribed by the law against manufacturers, sellers and users of illegal firecrackers are not enough to deter Filipinos from using banned pyrotechnic materials.

As PNP chief, Purisima is tasked under the law to approve licenses and business permits of firecracker manufacturers and sellers in the country

“Kapag nahuli ka, ang kulong six months to one year lang. Tapos ang multa, hanggang P30,000. Kaya itong mga nagtitinda, they are no longer concerned sa safety ng users. Mas mahalaga sa kanilang kumita,” Purisima said in an earlier interview.

Ona, however, said that he has yet to study if R.A. 7183 indeed needs to be given more teeth.

“I agree that we have to strengthen the law, but the imposition of heavier penalties should be subjected to more discussions. We have to study if this will have an effect on manufacturers and retailers of firecrackers,” he said.

At the Senate, Senator Manuel Villar Jr. filed Senate Resolution 636 in November 2011 seeking an “assessment on the state of the pyrotechnics industry in the country.”

In the resolution, Villar said most firecrackers are “being manufactured manually in crude and unsupervised manner.”

The resolution has been pending before the Senate committee on trade and commerce for over a year now.

Implementation

Bulacan Rep. Pedro Pancho, however, said there is no need to threaten local firecracker manufacturers with heavier penalties. Pancho's constituency, Bulacan's second district, includes Bocaue town, known as the country's firecracker capital.

“Siguro hindi naman na kailangan ng ganyan. Papatayin naman nila ang industriya rito sa amin kung magkataon. Mas mabuti siguro kung ang ireregulate ay iyong pagpasok ng imported firecrackers na mas grabe naman talaga ang lakas,” Pancho said in a separate interview.

However, he said he is not against amending R.A. 7183, as long as it will not hurt the local firecracker industry.

He added that Congress should introduce a provision in the law that will designate particular areas in the country where authorized firecrackers will be sold.

“Ang kailangan talaga ay magkaroon ng area kung saan doon lang makakabili ng mga paputok na legal at nainspeksyon ng maayos. Hindi iyong kung saan saan lang bumili na mga delikado naman,” he said.

Pancho likewise said the PNP should step up its crackdown on illegal firecrackers weeks before the New Year revelry.

“Binabalewala nila itong batas. Hindi binabantayan ng maigi. Kulang sa pagpapatupad sa batas,” the congressman said.

PNP chief Purisima however earlier said that the country’s 148,000-strong police force can only cover limited areas during inspections.

“Ilan lang ba ang pulis natin? Do you think puwede naming bantayan lahat ng areas sa lahat ng oras?” he said in an earlier interview.

Culture change

Ona, for his part, said that efforts from the executive branch, Congress and the police will be all for naught if Filipinos will not change their views about firecracker use during the New Year celebration.

“It is not enough to ban or prohibit certain kinds of firecrackers. We should have what I call a culture change,” he said.

The DOH chief acknowledged that Filipinos stick to the Chinese belief that a noisy celebration will ward off evil spirits during the New Year.

However, he said Filipinos should use safer alternatives in making noise other than firecrackers.

“I must admit that we Filipinos really enjoy noise during the New Year, pero pwede namang torotot na lang iyan. Mas safe pa. The indiscriminate buying of powerful firecrackers should really stop,” he said. - VVP, GMA News