Gov’t urged to reconsider planned total ban on firecrackers

MANILA  -A local group of fireworks and firecrackers manufacturers on Tuesday appealed to the government to reconsider its plan to impose a total ban on firecrackers, saying this will not stop the sale of these products in the black market.

Through Philippine Fireworks Association (PFA) President Joven Ong,  the industry made the appeal in reaction to Interior Secretary Benjamin C. Abalos Jr.’s call on local governments to pass ordinances banning the use and display of fireworks in their localities.

Abalos said LGUs may designate public places where people can safely view fireworks displays.

“Whenever there’s a ban, all legal manufacturers will close and follow the ban, but the real culprit in all these accidents and injuries are the illegal ones. They will not close shop and actually earn a lot more after the legal ones follow the ban,” Ong told the Inquirer.

READ: DILG chief calls for total ban on firecrackers

“Let’s not reward the illegal manufacturers by having a ban. Instead, (the) government should put more effort in regulating existing laws,” he said further.

Further, the PFA official said that illegal manufacturers who either don’t have licenses or Philippine Standard (PS) marks on their products should be prevented from getting their hands on the regulated chemicals used in making these pyrotechnics.

“(The Department of Trade and Industry’s Bureau of Philippine Standards) should close all the non-PS marked manufacturers who, year-in and year-out, don’t want to apply for licenses,” Ong said further.

He also highlighted that smuggled fireworks from China as well as the illegal sale online of regulated chemicals are already hurting legitimate fireworks manufacturers, both financially and socially as they take the blame for the resulting injuries from these uncertified products.

READ: LIST: Safety tips to avoid electrical accidents during Christmas, New Year

“We complain about them but they still exist. Then, all the injuries that come from these items are blamed on the legal fireworks industry,” he said.

Ong said they are hoping that the secretary will hear their plight and focus government efforts on putting a stop to illegal manufacturers and smugglers to protect all the legal jobs in the industry.

Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it will conduct on Thursday a market inspection of these products in the province of Bulacan, which is an annual hotspot for people looking to buy these pyrotechnics in bulk and inexpensively.