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BY MAE SINGUAY
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BACOLOD City – Seventy-six firecracker and pyrotechnic retailers in the city applied for the lifting of the work stoppage order against them.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) central office issued the order in light of fatal incidents in Luzon since October, citing “grave and imminent danger to the health and safety of workers” in manufacturing establishments.
The order may be lifted if the makers and sellers are found compliant with workplace safety and health standards, among other requirements.
The DOLE-Negros Island Region was still waiting for the applicants to complete their requirements, said officer-in-charge Cyril Ticao.
After an assessment, the DOLE-Negros will “recommend to the national office (specifically Labor secretary Silvestre Bello) to lift the stoppage order,” said Ticao.
Until then, no one is allowed to produce or sell firecrackers and pyrotechnics here; anyone defying the stoppage order will be held criminally liable, the official said.
Requirements include a Philippine National Police certification on compliance with Republic Act 7183, or the Act Regulating the Sale, Manufacture, Distribution and Use of Firecrackers and other Pyrotechnic Devices, and a fire safety certification from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).
None of the 76 applicants have produced these yet, Ticao said.
But they already complied with the one-day safety awareness training for workers and were found compliant with general labor standards, occupational safety and health standards, and other pertinent laws, rules and regulations.
INSPECTION TEAM
City hall formed a firecracker composite team that will ensure compliance with the work stoppage order.
Bacolod City Police Office operations head Superintendent Noel Polines, a team member, told the 76 retailers on Wednesday they cannot have stocks exceeding 500 kilograms for pyrotechnics and 50 kilograms for the firecrackers.
Another member, Executive Assistant Ernesto Pineda, said the firecracker vendors must comply with the DOLE order to secure a business permit.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia has designated the back of the Pope John Paul II Tower as the city’s firecracker zone.
On Tuesday the firecracker composite team inspected the stalls put up there to check their compliance with fire safety measures.
Other team members were Atty. Reuben Sabig of the City Legal Office, Superintendent Rodolfo Denaga of the BFP, Jose Carreon of the DOLE, and Allan Pacheco, president of the Bacolod Firecracker Vendors and Traders Association./PN
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