BY MAE SINGUAY
BACOLOD City – Boga, an improvised noisemaker popular during the holidays, is dangerous and must be banned.
It is detrimental to life and limb, said Councilor Elcid Familiaran, chairman of the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s Committee on Police, Security and Jail Management and Penology.
His proposed ordinance outlawing boga hurdled first reading in the city council.
Boga is a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cannon. It is made from a length of PVC pipe of substantial diameter mated to a toy gun.
The more daring use small projectiles like marbles as boga bullets.
Boga has become potent that some use it for hunting, said Familiaran.
The ban aims to protect city residents as boga can be detrimental to public safety, he said.
Boga is not covered by Republic Act 7183, the law regulating the sale, manufacture, distribution and use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices.
Under Familiaran’s proposed ordinance, it is punishable to possess, carry and use boga.
Violators will be fined not less than P2,000 but not more than P5,000 or imprisoned from three to six months, or both, at the court’s discretion.
Minors violating the ban shall undergo counseling and rehabilitation at the city’s Social Development Center.
National health officials have repeatedly warned against use of boga which carries a risk of blast or burn injury.
In some instances, boga users prematurely open it whenever it fails to fire, causing any delayed blasts to fire upon the unsuspecting user’s face.
In 2012, the Police Regional Office 6 described Western Visayas as a “special concern” because it was the only region with a considerable number of boga-related injuries, with most of the victims children./PN
