DOH – More Than 100 Firecracker Injuries Reported
DOH – The Department of Health (DOH) said that 124 new cases of fireworks-related injuries, hence, increasing the number to 288 since Dec. 21.
The department’s Epidemiology Bureau said, however, that the 288 fireworks cases is lower compared to the 313 incidents recorded for the same period in 2018.
According to PhilStar, so far, there were no recorded fatalities and stray bullet injuries.
The Malacañang Palace described the department’s campaign against firecrackers “relatively successful given that there is a downtrend in the said injuries.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo however admitted that there are still many “stubborn” Filipinos still used firecrackers despite the risk of accidents.
“Many are still hardheaded,”
“Maybe it can still be avoided. I don’t understand why there were injuries. Perhaps because of carelessness.”
He further said that President Rodrigo Duterte is in favor of a law banning firecrackers ever since he adopted this policy back when he was still the mayor of Davao City.
“If the President has his way, he would want a total ban but many are also urging him to just regulate (the use of firecrackers). Perhaps, we’ll leave it at that for now.”
Duterte signed Executive Order No. 28, which limits the use of firecrackers to community firework displays. Duterte said that it is needed because of the substantial number of firecracker-related injuries, even casualties, recorded every year, some involving mere bystanders.
Based on the report, National Capital Region (NCR) accounted for half or 143 of firework-related injuries recorded nationwide, followed up by Western Visayas with 29 cases and Ilocos region with 26 cases.
In further elaboration, males with age ranging from 11 months to 72 years old composed 70 percent or 200 of the cases.
More than 200 of the patients were treated for blast or burn injuries not requiring amputation while 70 or 24 percent had eye injuries, while ten of these cases required amputation.
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