CEBU CITY – Twenty-six persons spent their New Year in jail after they were caught violating a law that regulates the sale, manufacture, and distribution of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices.
They will be charged for violating Republic Act No. 7183 in relation to Executive Order No. 28.
“This is the first time that arrests were made because what was done before was only confiscation of firecrackers and the vendors were released. This time, violators were arrested and we will make sure that charges will be filed against them to show that the law has teeth,” said Senior Supt. Royina Garma, chief of the Cebu City Police Office.
The law carries a fine of not less than P20,000 but not more than P30,000 or imprisonment of not less than six months nor more than one year or both at the discretion of the court.
Aside from the 26 arrested persons, the series of police operations last Dec. 31 yielded more than 9,000 of assorted firecrackers and pyrotechnics worth P154,519.
The 26 persons were arrested after they caught selling outside the firecracker zone, which was set at the South Road Properties.
Garma said the CCPO only recorded three firecracker-related injuries during the New Year celebration.
“We also did not have an incident where a police officer was involved in indiscriminate firing. We can say that the celebration of New Year was generally peaceful,” said Garma.
Senior Supt. Manuel Abrugena, chief of the Cebu Provincial Police Office, assessed that no major incident happened during the New Year celebration.
The CPPO reported that there were only seven firecracker incidents during the Christmas and New Year celebrations in 2018 compared to 15 in 2017.
The CPPO said there was only one stray bullet incident in the entire province in 2018 compared to two in 2017.
“I want to express my gratitude to the men and women of CPPO for working hard during the Yuletide season and for their unwavering dedication to the police service in spite of being away from their families,” said Abrugena. (Calvin D. Cordova)
