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FILIPINOS welcomed 2018 with a considerable drop in the cases of firecracker-related injuries. This is good news. Take note that the sale or use of firecrackers has not been banned yet but merely regulated. Now imagine if President Duterte makes good on his election promise to totally ban firecrackers and fireworks nationwide.
In Davao City where the President used to serve as mayor, firecrackers and fireworks are banned. Can he replicate this feat in all towns and cities across the country?
EcoWaste Coalition, a civil society partner of the Department of Health in the yearly “Iwas Paputok” campaign, has long been calling for a comprehensive ban on firecrackers and fireworks to save lives and to protect the climate, the environment and the public health from hazardous emissions and wastes.
We say yes, it is high time that the Philippines, a climate hotspot, bid goodbye to New Year pollution and mayhem. Like the Davaoeños, can we usher in the New Year in a non-wasteful fashion through non-deafening, non-injurious and non-toxic noisemakers, too? Of course we can.
The yearly massive detonation of both legal and illegal pyrotechnics to herald the New Year goes against the basic state policies of protecting human health and the ecosystems as enshrined in the Constitution. On the other hand, banning firecrackers and fireworks will help in meeting the objectives of the Clean Air Act, Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, Clean Water Act, Climate Change Act, Animal Welfare Act and other environmental and health laws.
At the risk of being accused a “broken record” we cite some reasons why Filipinos should rally behind a national ban on firecrackers and fireworks: Firecrackers and fireworks cause serious, if not fatal, injuries to users and non-users alike. They generate carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. They produce toxic fumes that exacerbate the air quality and aggravate respiratory and cardiovascular episodes.
Firecrackers and fireworks generate tons of toxic-laced non-reusable and non-recyclable discards disposed of in streets, waterways, dumpsites and landfills. They can lead to fires and create thick smog resulting to poor visibility, causing public safety hazards. Yes, they produce ear-splitting noise that is painful for animals, especially to cats and dogs, and they squander hard-earned money for few minutes of dirty entertainment that is better spent for food, clothing, books, medicines and other necessities.
If a city down south can enforce the ban on firecrackers and fireworks since 2001, we see no reason why the entire country cannot do the same.
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