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[av_heading heading=’WV ‘CRACKER INJURIES DOWN Only 1 stray bullet case in Region 6 ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO and CAROLYN JANE ABELLO
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ILOILO City – Though their figures vary, police and health authorities agreed there was a drop in the number of firecracker-related injuries in Western Visayas during the New Year revelry.
As of this writing yesterday, the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6 reported 27 injuries.
According to Dr. May Ann Sta. Lucia, regional coordinator of DOH-6’s Violence and Injury Prevention Program, there were 14 in Negros Occidental, six in Iloilo, three in Aklan, and two each in Capiz and Guimaras.
In Negros Occidental, 10 firecrackers blast victims were taken to the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City.
All of the victims were male; the youngest was five years old and the oldest was 13, said Sta. Lucia.
The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6), on the other hand, recorded 44 firecracker-related injuries from Dec. 16, 2017 to Jan. 1, 2018 – lower than the 57 cases it recorded in the December 2016 – January 2017 New Year revelry.
According to Chief Superintendent Cesar Hawthorne Binag, regional police director, there was no reported illegal discharge of firearms but a man was hit by a stray bullet in Aklan.
The victim was 45-year-old Nolie Ursua of Barangay Bel-is, Buruanga, Aklan.
Ursua got hit on the right thigh while sleeping in his house passed 12 midnight yesterday, said Binag.
Ursua was taken to the Malay Municipal Hospital in Malay, Aklan.
Last December 2016, the PRO-6 recorded 15 cases of stray bullet injuries and one in January 2017.
Binag said there was also a 67.75 percent decline in crime volume during the recent holiday season – 1,977 or slightly lower than the December 2016 – January 2017’s 2,918 incidents.
“We are happy. The Christmas and New Year celebrations were peaceful. We are thankful to the cooperation and vigilance of the general public,” said Binag.
In Metro Manila yesterday, DOH secretary Francisco Duque reported a drop, too, in the overall nationwide incidents of firecracker-related injuries (Dec. 21, 2017 to Jan. 1, 2018). But he had a different figure for Western Visayas – just 15 cases. He said this was lower than the region’s 34 cases last year.
According to Duque, piccolo was still the leading cause of firecracker-related injuries, but there were victims of kwitis, fountain, luces, whistlebomb, and baby rockets, too.
“We are relatively pleased because of the substantial decrease in firecracker-related injuries,” Duque said. “We are certainly grateful to the strong cooperation of our local government units and other government agencies.”
In June 20 last year, President Rodrigo Duterte signed EO 28 limiting the use of firecrackers in the country. It specifically confined the use of firecrackers to community fireworks display.
“(There) continues to be a substantial number of firecracker-related injuries, even casualties, every year, some involving bystanders,” part of the EO read.
Due to firecracker-related injuries and deaths, “the promulgation of stricter national standards, rules and regulations is warranted,” it stressed.
According to the EO, a community fireworks display must be “conducted under the supervision of a trained person duly licensed by the Philippine National Police.”
It should also be “allowed by the municipality/city concerned through a permit specifying the date and time of fireworks display and the specific area in which the display will be conducted, in conformity with national standards, rules and regulations.”/PN
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