The domestic fireworks industry, which employs around 150,000 people, is asking local government units (LGUs) to refrain from imposing a blanket ban on firecrackers and pyrotechnics, stressing that there is no law or issuances totally prohibiting their use in celebrations.
Jovenson Ong, president of the Philippine Fireworks Association (PFA), said they are alarmed by reports that LGUs are using Executive Order (EO) 28, issued by President Duterte, as basis in banning their products.
Ong clarified that under the EO, firecracker use is not prohibited, but is only limited to designated areas nationwide. The use of pyrotechnics, on the other hand, is not prohibited under Duterte’s order.
“We wish to appeal to local government officials to please not restrict or discourage these age-old tradition of using pyrotechnics for celebrations, because this is a safer legal alternative to firecrackers,” Ong said.
Ong made the appeal as the industry gears up for the expected increase in demand for fireworks during the holiday season, especially for the new year revelry, which is traditionally associated with the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnics.
What the PFA is pushing, Ong pointed out, is a strict ban on the use of piccolo firecrackers, which, according to the group, caused about 60 percent of injuries nationwide—mostly to children—in the past new year celebrations.
The group warned that any initiative by local or even national politicians to totally ban fireworks will just encourage the public to go back to using dangerous firecrackers, instead of the safer pyrotechnics.
Such move will, likewise, worsen public safety, because it will encourage unregulated small-scale and secret backyard producers, as well as uncontrolled smuggling of imported fireworks with dubious or inconsistent quality.
The Philippine fireworks industry, which is mainly based in Bulacan province, benefits an estimated 150,000 people with livelihoods connected to local manufacturing and selling of firecrackers and pyrotechnics nationwide.
Apart from providing employment opportunities to the people, this sector bodes well for the country’s economy, given its export potential.
“The association wishes to thank President Duterte for his fairness toward our Philippine-made pyrotechnics and fireworks industry,” Ong said, while citing the need for more public and private institutions backing this sector.
“The PFA appeals to politicians in LGUs and the media for fairness, for support for this domestic fireworks-manufacturing industry, which provides livelihood, generates taxes, supports the Philippine economy and has huge export potentials,” he stressed.
Fireworks are comprised of firecrackers and pyrotechnics, with sounds and lights as main effects, respectively.