The Department of Health logged a 14 percent decrease in the number of firecracker-related injuries in 2022 compared to the previous year as the Philippine National Police said New Year revelries have been generally peaceful except for at least three indiscriminate firing incidents.
“There is a 14 percent decrease in cases recorded in all regions as of this morning,” DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said during a press conference at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) after making the rounds of the facility’s trauma unit and non-COVID-19 emergency room.
The department has recorded a total of 137 firecracker-related injuries reported by the sentinel hospitals since the start of the monitoring on Dec. 20.
Vergeire said 85 of the cases occurred from Dec. 31 to the morning of Jan. 1.
The decrease is attributed to the local government units’ implementation of regulations and ordinances related to the use and sale of firecrackers and pyrotechnics, she said.
Vergeire said they are expecting additional cases until their monitoring ends on Jan. 6.
The PNP, for its part, said New Year revelries were generally peaceful and safe.
PNP Public Information Office chief Col. Red Maranan said two incidents of indiscriminate firing in Iloilo and Quezon City.
A member of the Philippine Coast Guard and one civilian were arrested for those incidents, Maranan said.
In Abra, two people were reportedly wounded after being hit by a stray bullet, Police Regional Office (PRO) Cordillera Deputy Regional Director for Operations Col. Ronald Gayo said.
In Metro Manila, National Capital Region Police Office chief Maj. Gen. Jonnel Estomo said the celebration was generally peaceful.
“These positive developments could be attributed to our early preparations and consistent implementation of various measures,” he said.
The NCRPO arrested seven violators of the firecracker ban, two violators in illegal discharge of firearms, and confiscated firecrackers worth P1,208,710 in the entire region.