President Duterte Warns Against Risks of Firecrackers

Filipinos may soon, in the coming years, learn to meet and celebrate the New Year in silent fashion sans the use of fireworks, a long held practice and tradition derived from the Chinese.

This as President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday, November 24 that he is mulling the ban of the manufacture and use of firecrackers. “At this time, I’d like to put on notice everybody that I am seriously considering making the entire Philippines like Davao.“We observe the Christmas time with solemnity,” Duterte told reporters in an interview at the Wireless Cemetery (Roman Catholic Cemetery) in Davao City where he visited the grave of his father.“I’m putting up a notice that I might. But that decision should not go beyond April, May kasi but too late na naman. It has to be decided,” he added.

The President said he wants Congress to act on it first. “And if I, if they do not want it, well I will see if I can do it by executive order. Tutal naman ang ano diyan is the power of the President to come up with measures to protect public property, public interest, public safety,” he said.

The Chief Executive said it would be too late to implement a firecracker ban for the coming New Year, noting that it would not be fair. “Too late na. Nabili na ‘yung ano eh. Everybody has invested… It would not be fair,” he said. “The least that I can say or I do is just to issue a warning that it’s very, very dangerous,” Duterte said. “If you lose your eye or if your hand is cut or when it explodes in front of you, you suffer burns that is a very serious health issue,” he said.

Duterte, who was Davao Mayor for a long time prior to running and winning as President of the country, banned firecrackers from the city. “I decided to ban it in Davao because most of the victims are children,” he said. “We used to hit something like almost, in the previous years, 600 serious cases of the children going blind, losing a limb, finger, a hand, a foot,” the President said. (PND)