Pateros Mayor Miguel Ponce III reminded residents to limit their “pamamasko,” or going from house to house for gifts on Christmas Day due to the pandemic and that the firecracker ban is still implemented in the municipality.
In a live broadcast on Facebook, Ponce said this is to prevent the resurgence of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Pateros, which has recorded zero new cases for nearly a month.
“On Christmas Day, as much as possible, we discourage you from going from one house to another to solicit or ask for ‘pamasko’ as this may cause the spread of the virus,” he said.
He added, “If we can avoid going from house to house to ask for gifts, please avoid doing it so we will not have any problem and go back to before when we had many COVID virus positive here in Pateros.”
Ponce also reminded residents that the ban on the use of firecrackers and fireworks is still in effect in Pateros.
“Come New Year, we still have an ordinance that is in effect against the use of any kind of firecrackers or fireworks. We will strictly implement this for the safety of everyone,” he said.
The Municipal Council passed Ordinance 2021-01 in 2012, “prohibiting the manufacture, sale, distribution, and storage of fire crackers or pyrotechnic devices and such other similar devices within the territorial jurisdiction of Pateros.”
In December 2020, Ponce signed Executive Order No. 33 ordering “that effective immediately and until sooner lifted, there shall be a total ban on the sale, possession and use of all kinds of firecrackers, fireworks and other pyrotechnic devices within the Municipality of Pateros.”
“That other than those prohibited and penalized by Municipal Ordinance 2012-01, the possession and use of any kind of firecrackers, fireworks and other pyrotechnic devices shall be totally prohibited and any person found violating the same shall be penalized in accordance with Ordinance No. 2012-01 and the prohibited items found in his/her possession shall be confiscated and disposed of in accordance with law," according to the order.