A fireworks display at a hotel located near Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center signals another year for employees and patients of the hospital.| CDND PHOTO / Gerard Vincent Francisco
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Five of the eight recorded cases of blast-related burn injuries in Cebu City involved minors who used prohibited firecrackers such as “piccolo” and watusi.
Police Colonel Engelbert Soriano, officer-in-charge of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), said the youngest firecracker blast victim is three years old, while the oldest one is a 53-year-old woman.
The other minors are 10 and 14 years old, and two 17-year-old teenagers.
All of them suffered from burns after using prohibited firecrackers.
Soriano said the eight cases of firecracker-related injuries happened from New Year’s Eve, December 31, to the early morning of January 1, Wednesday, based on the records of the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC).
Soriano said no incidents of stray bullets or physical injuries caused by drunkenness were recorded.
He said there were 40 cases of firecracker-related injuries in 2018/2019, an 80-percent decrease from 2019/2020’s eight cases.
“Generally peaceful lang naman talaga ang ating new year,” said Soriano in a phone interview with CDN Digital.
(Our New Year celebration is generally peaceful).
Soriano said the decrease is attributed to the intensive public campaign against the usage of prohibited firecrackers
At least half a million pesos worth of firecrackers were confiscated on December 30, 2019 after police raided a warehouse in Sitio Lutaw-Lutaw in Barangay Santo Niño, Cebu City.
The confiscated firecrackers included 34,560 pieces of bingala, sky beauty fireworks, roman candle, fountain, colorful shots, whistle bomb/shotgun, libintador/rambo, pop-up, thunder fireworks and sprinklers.
The raid happened two days after Carbon policemen cracked down an establishment in Calderon Street in Barangay Ermita on December 27, where authorities confiscated 170,000 pieces of firecrackers worth at least P323,000.
Soriano said the crackdown against prohibited fireworks limited the supply sold to consumers, which resulted to fewer firecracker-related incidents.
The new CCPO chief said he is grateful for the cooperation of the Cebu City residents in maintaining a peaceful New Year celebration.
Starting January 2, 2019, Soriano said the CCPO will begin the full preparations for the Sinulog 2020.
Soriano hopes for the same cooperation from Cebuanos to keep the Sinulog 2020 peaceful and orderly. / celr