CEBU CITY – The death of a 10-year-old boy due to a firecracker blast showed that the stern warning against the use of prohibited firecrackers had fallen on deaf ears.
A WOODEN cross marks the spot in Barangay Candulawan, Talisay City, Cebu where a boy died after playing with a firecracker on New Year’s Day. (MyTVCebu)
“We did our part. We did not fall short of reminding the public to avoid prohibited firecrackers,” said Police Lt. Col. Jeanette Rafter, spokesperson of Police Regional Office-Central Visayas (PRO-7) officer-in-charge Police Brig. Gen. Roy Parena.
The boy died after he struck a firecracker called “Goodbye Philippines” with a rock in a vacant area in Barangay Candulawan, Talisay City, Cebu on New Year’s Day.
The boy and his four friends had collected used firecrackers or those that had been lit but did not explode. The children covered the firecracker with tiles before a rock was slammed on it.
The explosion caused the tiles to fly. A tile pierced through the boy’s heart, causing his death. The four other boys were also injured.
Goodbye Philippines is one of those included in the list of prohibited firecrackers.
Days leading to the Christmas and New Year revelries, authorities inspected various firecracker zones in Metro Cebu to ensure the enforcement of the regulation on the use and sale of firecrackers.
Although authorized stalls were not allowed to sell prohibited firecrackers, these items can be bought elsewhere, Rafter said.
“We appealed numerous times to refrain from using prohibited firecrackers but these firecrackers with high explosive content can be bought through online sellers,” said Rafter. “We have the data and history shows that these prohibited firecrackers are proven unsafe,” Rafter added.
A 23-year-old man in Asturias, Cebu died when a “Bombshell” firecracker exploded in his face.
Clifford Remis was checking the base of the device where the firecrackers were mounted. It turned out that there was still a firecracker that remained intact and only exploded when Remis checked on it.
Rafter said there were 14 firecracker-related incidents during the New Year revelry in Cebu.
Two cases of indiscriminate firing were also reported, one in Barangay Tisa, Cebu and in Tagbilaran City, Bohol. The stray bullet incident left a man injured.
There were also two cases of physical injuries after two drunk men figured in a fistfight.
Rafter said that despite the 14 firecracker-related incidents and indiscriminate firing cases, the celebration of New Year in Central Visayas was still generally peaceful.