Bataan PAC recommends province-wide ban on selling firecrackers

ORANI, Bataan — The PNP-Bataan Provincial Advisory Council (PAC) has moved to recommend a province-wide ban of selling of firecrackers for the coming holidays, the Public Information Agency (PIA-Bataan) reported.

PIA-Bataan chief, Jose Mari Garcia, reported that during its meeting last Friday afternoon at the 1Bataan Command Center, the council agreed to coordinate with Bataan Governor Abet Garcia in order to avoid firecracker use and prevent injuries.

PAC chairman and Metro Bataan Development Authority (MBDA) general manager, Charlie Pizarro Jr., approved the recommendation, together with newly installed PNP-Bataan chief, Police Senior Superintendent Marcelo Dayag.

Garcia added that “zero incidents on firecracker and robbery this holiday season” is the marching order of PNP-Bataan under Senior Supt. Marcelo Dayag to all his police chiefs during the recent PNP PAC meeting. Dayag ordered the conduct of random checkpoints, aside from standard, and information drive against firecracker use.

Last year, the Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported a decline in the number of firecracker victims treated at the government-owned Bataan General Hospital (BGH). As of the end of the New Year revelry in 2016, the record was lowered by more than 50 percent compared to the 2015 number of firecracker-related cases.

From the Aksyon Paputok Injury Reduction board at the BGH Emergency Ward, there were seven firecracker victims from December 21, 2015 to January 1, 2016 compared to 18 from December 21, 2014 to January 5, 2015.

Of the seven, four minor injuries were caused by the banned piccolo and one each from five star, whistle bomb and boga.

The youngest victim was 13 years old while the oldest was 33 years old. Of those injured due to firecracker use, six are males and one is female.

“Photo courtesy of Bataan PNP PCR”