Playing with firecrackers

The numbers are in, and they are not pretty. Before the onset of the New Year spree, health officials had expressed hope that fewer people would be injured this year due to firecrackers, stray bullets and firecracker ingestion. The figures, in fact, are higher—by 20 cases more, or 2.2 percent, compared to figures from the same period last year. Of the 949 recorded injuries from Dec. 21 to Jan. 4, 97 percent were caused by firecrackers, 3 percent by stray bullets and less than 1 percent by firecracker poisoning.

Compounding the spike in injury rate was the smog that blanketed Manila on New Year’s Day, which was so severe that flights into the Ninoy Aquino International Airport had to be diverted to other airports because of poor visibility. The smog also registered pollution readings that were way above normal even for a city already struggling with befouled air as Metro Manila, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Various kinds of pollutants were detected in the post-fireworks air, among them sulfur, potassium and carbon particulates, which are known to be harmful to health.

“Air pollution is a health hazard,” said Environment Secretary Ramon Paje. “It particularly impacts on our children and senior citizens because of their fragile health condition.” The widespread use of fireworks to mark the New Year, he added, “has not only set back our efforts against air pollution, but also poses dangers to life and limb. It also puts the airline industry at great risk, causing the diversion of Naia flights to Clark.”

That is a point worth seriously taking into account by Malacañang, the police and, especially, the country’s lawmakers. Congress, with Republic Act 7183, has allowed for a regulated environment where some fireworks identified as particularly harmful are banned for sale and distribution, and others considered less injurious are made available on the streets during the holidays. The figures, however, give the lie to the notion that such a nuanced setup would work in the general sonic frenzy leading up to the New Year countdown. At least 234 injuries this year, for instance, were traced to a banned firecracker called “piccolo,” described as a small, inexpensive and colorful firecracker lighted like a matchstick, and therefore clearly intended for children.

How about banning firecrackers of whatever type altogether? Even those considered safe, such as “luces” or sparklers, can cause injury and fire when handled incorrectly, as is wont to happen when children, the natural constituency of firecrackers, get their hands on them. Aggravating the harm they cause are the polluted air and people’s damaged health that constitute the inevitable aftermath.

Local fireworks makers, of course, are vigorously opposing a total firecracker ban—which is quite understandable given the impact such a move would have on their livelihood. But blunting any sympathy that might accrue their way is the callous manner some industry leaders have demonstrated in minimizing the havoc caused by their products. Celso Cruz, president emeritus of the Philippine Pyrotechnics Manufacturers and Dealers Association, boasted that “Even (former President Ferdinand) Marcos at the height of martial law failed to enforce a total ban,” and that the call to impose one is “lumang tugtugin” (an old refrain). He didn’t stop there. “The 700-plus injuries last New Year’s Day were really insignificant considering there are over 90 million Filipinos. If they get statistics on injuries sustained from basketball or cycling, perhaps there are more,” he said.

Such a crude dismissal of horrendous, life-scarring injuries and, on occasion, loss of life is outrageous. But on a more dispassionate level, even the argument that a total ban is unworkable doesn’t hold water. GMA News Online recently revealed that cities that have imposed strict firecracker bans are reporting zero or minimal casualties. “Davao City, the first city in the country to impose a firecracker ban, has enjoyed injury-free celebrations for at least the last three years,” it said. Olongapo recorded only three this year. Pateros had zero, and Muntinlupa had 13 for the entire holiday season, compared to 39 cases at Quezon City’s East Avenue Medical Center on New Year’s Eve alone.

Can it be done? With political will, yes. Let commercial establishments engage in well-regulated, properly coordinated communal fireworks during the New Year. The rest of the country should be spared the dangers of go-it-alone pyrotechnic revelry.