Drew Tetangco
- The Philippine National Police has released a list firecrackers that they deem are illegal
- The public is encouraged to be vigilant and report a person that they see selling such firecrackers
- It is also mentioned that using firecrackers in public places is still prohibited except for designated locations
Manila, Philippines – With the New Year’s Eve coming close, it has been a tradition by Filipinos to use and light firecrackers as they welcome the New Year. This tradition can possibly be traced to how the Chinese have used firecrackers to “ward of evil spirits and bad luck” as the new year arrives.
For the past few years, there are still reports of people getting injured because of firecracker incidents. This can be attributed to how strong of an explosion it can make, or in some unfortunate cases, accidents and being careless are the cause. Groups have been campaigning the use of alternative noisemakers such as trumpets but there will still be some that will “stick to tradition.”
In an article by ABS-CBN, the Philippine National Police, or PNP, has issued a list of firecrackers that are now considered as illegal. Reasons for them to be tagged this way would be because of how strong and possibly damaging they can become to their surroundings.
The firecrackers that are now illegal to sell according to PNP are:
- Piccolo
- Sawa
- Five Star
- Watusi
- Giant Whistle Bomb
- Giant Bawang
- Large Judas Belt
- Super Lolo
- Lolo Thunder
- Atomic Bomb
- Atomic Bomb Triangulo
- Pillbox
- Boga
- Kwiton
- Goodbye Earth
- Goodbye Bading
- Hello Columbia
- Goodbye Philippines
PNP office in charge Lt. Gen. Francisco Gamboa encourages the public to report anyone that they see selling firecrackers that are in the list so that the appropriate actions can be done. It was also reported that firecracker sellers in Bocaue, Bulacan, where most of the supply is from, has met lower sales compared to last year.
It is still illegal to use firecrackers in public places except for designated locations. If a firecracker was lit up but it didn’t explode, wet it with water so that any possible embers would be put out and that it can’t be lit up again. It is better to dispose of it if it didn’t explode instead of risking to light it again.
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