MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Friday directed officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to start inspecting firecrackers and pyrotechnics manufacturers’ stores and plants in the country, particularly in Bulacan, to ensure the safety of products that would be sold in the market.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse M. Robredo directed BFP Chief Samuel Perez and Chief Supt. Napoleon Estilles, PNP-Firearms and Explosives Division (FED) Chief, to coordinate with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Health (DoH) in carrying out their tasks.
“In the advent of the holidays, particularly during the Christmas and New Year’s eve celebrations, we expect different types of fireworks and firecrackers to flood the market. We need to regulate and check the efficacy and safety of these products to reduce firecracker-related injuries,” Robredo said.
He said the BFP should inspect all firecracker stores and plants in the country and ensure that all comply with fire safety regulations to avoid accidental fires and explosions.
The PNP-FED, which has control over the ingredients being used in the manufacture of firecrackers, should strictly enforce Republic Act 7183 or the law regulating the manufacture and sale of firecrackers and pyrotechnics to ensure that all banned products such as “atomic big triangulo, baby dynamite, super lolo, kwiton" and similar devices will not be sold in the market, the DILG chief said.
“The BFP and PNP-FED should take an aggressive stance in enforcing their mandates and must closely coordinate with firecrackers and pyrotechnics manufacturers and distributors to prevent fires and explosions in their plants and stores, and most importantly, reduce firecracker-related deaths and injuries,” Robredo said.
Robredo added that there is also a continuing need for a closer coordination among the DILG-PNP, DTI, DoH, and other agencies to properly classify firecrackers and pyrotechnics to determine which are and are not authorized for sale to the public.
“This is because every year, we get to learn and hear new and more powerful firecracker products being sold in the market. We should ensure they are banned in the market. Most of the time, these banned products are the main causes of death and injuries during Christmas and New Year’s eve revelries,” he said.
To protect local firecrackers industry, Robredo also instructed the PNP-FED to coordinate with the Bureau of Customs (BoC) to prevent the influx and sale in the local market of illegally imported or smuggled firecracker products.
“PNP-FED and BoC should make an aggressive campaign against smuggled firecracker and pyrotechnic products by going after unscrupulous traders and distributors of unregulated products,” he said.
Robredo urged local chief executives – from governors to barangay officials – to participate in the government’s anti-firecracker campaign to reduce firecracker-related deaths and injuries in their respective localities.
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