BAGUIO CITY – The city government will attempt to replicate the zero casualty the city achieved last year during the Yuletide revelries.
Dr. Donnabel Tubera, medical officer of the City Health Services Office, reiterated the previous advisories from health authorities for the people to stop exploding firecrackers during the Christmas and New Year revelries to help the city sustain the zero casualty it achieved last year in addition to the firecracker ban in the city.
She attributed the zero casualty on firecracker-related incidents to the strict implementation of the total ban on the selling of firecrackers in the city by former Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan coupled with the cooperation of the residents and tourists to the repeated call for them to use other ways and means to welcome the Christmas and New Year.
The medical officer claimed it took a number of years for the previous administration to strictly implement the ban on the sale of firecrackers in the city and for the realization of the zero casualty, thus, city residents must sustain this fete they themselves achieved through their compliance to the consistent implementation of the total ban on the sale of firecrackers in the city and the use of alternative revelry materials.
She urged residents and visitors to participate with city officials in the centralised community fireworks display to be held by the local government at the Melvin Jones open field to welcome the New Year.
Former Mayor Domogan started the city government’s campaign on zero casualty on firecracker-related incidents by prohibiting the sale of firecracker and pyrotechnics materials by refusing to issue permits for the sale of these materials in the city, thus, vendors transferred their annual sale of fireworks and pyrotechnic materials along Marcos highway which is within the jurisdiction of Tuba, Benguet.
Tubera called on residents to continue their utmost cooperation to the stringent policies imposed by the health department and the city government against the use of firecrackers to welcome Christmas and the New Year to keep them unscathed for the holidays and new year.
According to her, health authorities continue to work double time in enhancing their information education campaign to convince more people to embrace other means of welcoming the new year so as not to jeopardise their merrymaking with untoward incidents caused by exploding firecrackers that could cause lifetime injuries thereby affecting their way of life.
The health department will start its monitoring of firecracker-related injuries under the agency’s Oplan Iwas Paputok on December 21 and will end on January 5, 2020./Dexter A. See
