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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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Tuesday, January 3, 2017
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ILOILO City – It’s not wise to pick up “dud” firecrackers – those that failed to explode during the New Year celebrations. They could still bring considerable harm, warned the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6.
As of yesterday, firecracker-related injuries in Western Visayas and Negros Occidental ballooned to 105, according to Dr. May Ann Sta. Lucia, spokesperson of DOH Region 6 for its Oplan Iwas Paputok campaign.
“To parents, please prohibit your children from picking up unexploded firecrackers. They could end up in our list of firecracker-related injuries,” warned Sta. Lucia.
DOH secretary Paulyn Ubial, who had served as regional director of the department in Western Visayas a few years back, made the same appeal.
“Nais naming pakiusapan lalo na ang mga bata na huwag mamulot ng paputok na nagkalat sa kalsada. Siguraduhin din natin na pumunta sa ospital kung ikaw ay nagkasugat sa paputok,” Ubial said.
She added: “Maliit man o malaki ang sugat, dapat pa rin itong malapatan ng tamang gamot. Ang tetano ay nakamamatay at nakukuha ito sa mga paputok. Hangad ng DOH na magkaroon tayo ng isang malusog, ligtas at manigong bagong taon.”
Sta. Lucia was hopeful that there would be no more additional cases in Western Visayas. Last year, the regional health office recorded 150 cases by Jan. 2 so this year’s lower figure was greeted with much relief.
Of the 105 cases, Negros Occidental had the highest number of victims with 37, followed by Capiz with 22, Iloilo City with 18, Iloilo province with 17, and Aklan with 11.
According to Sta. Lucia, “95 percent” of the firecracker victims were males from 10 to 15 years old.
The cases peaked between Dec. 31, 2016 to Jan. 1, 2017, said Sta. Lucia, and most were hand blast burns and eye injuries.
DOH-6 was thankful that there were no cases of stray bullet injuries. It will end its monitoring of firecracker-related incidents on Jan. 5.
Fireworks and firecrackers are widely available throughout the Philippines. For public safety, Republic Act 7183 was enacted to regulate and to control their sale, distribution, manufacture, and use.
According to Sta. Lucia, most of the injuries were from the firecracker piccolo – a thin, small, cylindrical stick filled with gunpowder and lit in the same way as a match.
Piccolo can explode even on wet surfaces or underwater due to its thick and water resistant cardboard shell just like the other firecrackers./PN
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