The Muntinlupa Police confiscated illegal firecrackers and noisemaking devices as they implemented an ordinance banning their sale and use in the city.
Muntinlupa City Ordinance No. 14-092 prohibits “the manufacture, display, sale, distribution, possession or use of firecrackers or pyrotechnic devices and such other similar devices and the exploding of firecrackers or other similar explosives within the territorial jurisdiction of Muntinlupa City.” Violators will be fined P1,000 to P5,000.
From Dec. 23 to 24, the Muntinlupa Police, headed by Col. Robert Domingo, seized 85 “boga” (an improvised noise making device made of PVC), 100 pieces of Five Star and 200 pieces of Piccolo. The police estimated that the Five Star and Piccolo were worth P4,000.
"Boga" confiscated by personnel from Barangay Poblacion in Muntinlupa (Photo from Barangay Chairman Allen Ampaya)
Of the total, all the Piccolo and Five Star, and 30 pieces of “boga” were seized in Barangay Poblacion.
The police also confiscated 20 pieces of “boga” in Barangay Putatan and 30 pieces of “boga” in Barangay Sucat.
Boga is prohibited under a 2013 memorandum circular issued by the Department of the Interior and Local Government based on Republic Act 7183 (An Act Regulating the Sale, Manufacture, Distribution and Use of Firecrackers and Other Pyrotechnic Devices).
The Muntinlupa City government has stepped up its campaign against firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices, and modified mufflers during the holiday season.
Muntinlupa Traffic Management Bureau (MTMB) headed by Danidon Nolasco apprehended several people for violating the ban on the use of modified mufflers.