WHO wants to celebrate the coming year with a bang?
Before you raise your hand, count your fingers first. You don’t want to start the year with incomplete fingers.
According to Engineer Celso Cruz, chairman emeritus of the Philippine Pyrotechnics Manufacturers & Dealers Association Inc. (PPMDAI), consumers should be careful in buying fireworks and firecrackers.
He says that you should always check the packaging if it contains the following: manufacturer’s name, address and contact number; license number of manufacturer; instructions for use and warnings.
If the fireworks that you bought don’t have the above mentioned requirements, then it means that you these fireworks are illegal. Cruz admitted that many are still selling illegal fireworks.
Cruz said that the PPMDAI has been providing disseminating safety information on fireworks and firecrackers to the public. But it is up to the Philippine National Police to regulate the manufacture, distribution and use of firecrackers in the country, as stated in Republic Act 7183, which outlines laws on firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices.
PPMDAI has, for instance, launched a campaign called “Ingat-Paputok, Iwas-Disgrasya.” It was done in partnership with Bulacan.
Cruz said the campaign is done through seminars and the distribution of leaflets that contain information on safety when it comes to using fireworks.
I got a copy of the leaflet and here are some reminders from the Pyrotechnics Regulatory Board:
- Don’t use prohibited firecrackers like pla-pla, lolo, super lolo, giant bawang, giant whistle bomb, baby dynamite at kabase.
- Light the fireworks in a wide area far from flammable materials.
- Don’t let your children light firecrackers. Guide them in handling lucis or sparklers.
- Don’t light any fireworks in your hands.
- If the firecrackers or fireworks are defective, then don’t light them again. Wait
- For 15 to 20 minutes and splash a pail of water onto it.
