Private households are prohibited from staging their own fireworks display.
This prohibition was issued by Mayor Honey Lacuna via Executive Order No. 36, wherein she stated several other prohibitions, adding that fireworks will only be allowed in permitted staging areas which should have accompanying special permits that have been applied for three days prior to the event and which have been issued by the Bureau of Permit.
Lacuna said the city government listed down the firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices that will be allowed for use only in community fireworks display areas and the information had been disseminated to the barangays and through the city’s social media accounts. for use.
Those that are prohibited for use, manufacture, sale or distribution in Manila are the ones without proper labels; those that contain sulfur or phosphorus combined with chlorates; those that are oversized with short fuse that detonate in less than three seconds and all others that could endanger lives and limbs as determined by the Philippine National Police.
The applicants for permits, she said, are required to follow certain safety guidelines before, during and after the fireworks display, among them the presence of standby firetrucks, at least five lookouts or security guards to be posted in strategic areas to serve as fire suppression team in the event of an incidental fire. They are also expected to have a team of first-aid medical personnel on standby and ensure proper disposal of all debris and waste fragments after the event.
The lady mayor stressed that those granted permits are also warned against exploding fireworks that are not specified in their application, saying doing so will be illegal and will cause the blacklisting or banning of the proponent from future applications in the future.
According to Lacuna, penalties and fines await violators of the prohibitions stated in her executive order, which she said, was spurred by the continuing rise in the number of firecracker-related injuries way ahead of the New Year celebrations.
She added that the EO she issued was also meant to protect city homes and structures against incidental fires as well as the safety of the residents themselves.
