Mandaue City eyes zero firecracker tolerance

MANDAUE City aims for zero firecracker-related injuries this year and will strictly enforce the city’s ban on firecrackers, officials said.

Mayor Luigi Quisumbing said that aside from legally-approved pyrotechnic dealers located in the city’s malls, no other permits have been given to firecracker vendors in the last six years that the city has imposed the ban.

No display areas have also been provided.

Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) Director Senior Superintendent Roberto Alanas in an interview said that he has tasked the police to arrest firecracker vendors and those found using firecrackers in public areas.

Police will also monitor peddlers who go discreetly go house to house to sell firecrackers.

“Hindi naman siguro mawawala yang mga paputok pero at least mabawasan lang para naman matutukan natin yong iba pang problema kasali na ang indiscriminate firing (We may not be able to totally eradicate firecrackers but at least, we can lessen its use so that we can focus on other problems such as indiscriminate firing),” said  Alanas.

Last year, MCPO recorded one incident involving indiscriminate firing which resulted to one injury.

There were also less than ten firecracker-related injuries reported in Mandaue City last year.

The low record of incidents was credited to the success of the city’s “Torotot” campaign which encouraged Mandauehanons to celebrate with toy horns instead of pyrotechnics during the holidays to avoid injuries and prevent fire.

“Maayo sab nang wala gyu’y pabuto kay aron malikayan ang injury ug ang sunog (It’s good that there are no firecrackers to prevent injury and fire),” said Mandaue City Fire Marshall, Josephus Alburo.

Alburo recommends that the use of pyrotechnics should only be limited to special events and should not be made readily available for everyone’s use.

He cited the multiple fire incidents which occurred within minutes of each other while celebrating New Year 2017.

A fire drill was recently conducted by the Mandaue City Fire Department at the 6.5 hectare relocation site in Barangay Paknaan.

Public reaction

Mandaue City’s total firecracker ban has resulted to a spike in the prices of toy horns sold in the city’s streets, markets and malls.
At the public plaza, horns of different shapes and sizes are sold at P50 to P150.

Eric Tuñacao, 46, of Barangay Centro Mandaue, who is used to celebrating the holiday season with firecrackers said that this year, he will use toy horns instead or bang the covers of cauldrons to make noise.

“Magpabuto unta ko pero basin moreklamo atong mga silingan o ba kaha mapungkol ta, dili nalang (I wanted to use firecrackers but my neighbors might complain or I might lose a limb),” said Tuñacao.

Wilson Limatog of Barangay Mantuyong no longer uses firecrackers but blasts his radio at high volume playing Christmas jingles.

Mandaue City has launched nightly activities at the city plaza to celebrate Christmas including a festival of lights, a caroling contest and a band showdown.

The Plaza grounds were also decorated with colorful lights for people to enjoy Christmas peacefully.

“We want to achieve a peaceful celebration of Christmas and welcome the New Year without any untoward incidents such as firecracker-related injuries, stray bullets and fire incidents,” said Mayor Quisumbing.