FILIPINOS should brace for a much different New Year celebration as President Rodrigo Duterte hinted on imposing a total ban on the manufacture, sale and use of firecrackers.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque reiterated the call of the President, who earlier asked manufacturers of firecrackers to look for an alternative livelihood amid an imminent imposition of the ban.
Duterte said that firecrackers are dangerous and he may totally ban them for “reasons of public safety and health.”
“Gaya ng sinabi kagabi ng Presidente, kinakailangan aalahanin din iyong mga taong nakasalalay sa paggawa ng paputok bilang hanapbuhay,” said Roque.
“Kumbaga, binigyan na ng warning ng Presidente: humanap na kayo ng ibang hanapbuhay dahil sa susunod na taon, magkakaroon na tayo ng absolute firecrackers ban,” he told reporters.
Last January, the Department of Health said firecracker-related injuries were down 35 percent from Dec. 21 to early morning of Jan. 1, 2020, during the same comparable period leading to New Year’s Day in 2019.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Duterte’s 2017 executive order limiting the use of firecrackers in the country could be credited for the decrease, along with the information campaign of the agency.
The President also banned firecrackers when he was still mayor of Davao City.
“Kagaya sa amin, sa amin maganda man. New Year, Pasko, we celebrate it with the family. May music, lahat na. Gaiety and all. Walang nasusugatan, walang namamatay,” he said in his Monday speech.
Duterte also warned Filipinos to refrain from firing their guns to make noise during the eves of Christmas and New Year.
“Kapag nahuli ka dito sa pagpaputok mo…papahirapan kita,” he said. “Sabihin ko sa mga pulis, ‘wag niyong linisin mga kubeta niyo sa preso…wag niyo linisin sa Pasko pati New Year.’ Kasi diyan ko ipasok ‘yung mga p_________g ‘yan,” the President said.