BACOLOD City – Firecracker sales in this capital city during the holidays have slowed down, according to Executive Assistant II Ernesto Pineda.
Pineda – who heads the City Mayor’s Office Sectoral Concerns division – said he was able to talk to vendors at the designated firecracker zone at Reclamation Area in Barangay 12.
Pineda however failed to present actual figures but confirmed that 2017 firecracker sales were much higher compared to that in 2018.
He said only about 30 percent of all firecracker vendors in Bacolod were able to turn in profits after the holiday celebrations.
These vendors were those who bought lesser supplies for sale, added Pineda, who also chairs the Market Coordinating and Monitoring Task Force.
In 2018, a total of 65 vendors secured permits to sell firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices in Bacolod – lower compared to 76 in 2017.
Of the 65, only 56 were able to secure permits ahead of time. The nine others were issued with the permits on Dec. 30, giving them only two days to sell their goods.
Pineda also said the public may have been discouraged to buy firecrackers since they can only light them at designated community fireworks display areas.
In Bacolod, only 29 out of 61 barangays have designated community fireworks display zones, still lower compared to 45 in 2017.
President Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order No. 28 last year, which provided regulation and control over the use and sale of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices.
The order authorized local government units in coordination with the Philippine National Police to supervise the use and sale of firecrackers in line with the national standards, rules and regulations. (With a report from PNA/PN)
