DAVAO CITY – The Southern Philippines Medical Center here once again reported zero firecracker and stray bullet injuries from welcoming the New Year.
SPMC chief of clinics Dr. Ricardo Audan bared that they did not receive any casualty since New Year’s Eve.
“Ang monitoring ng firecracker injury and stray bullet injury in relation to Yuletide season is on going up to Jan. 6, 2019,” Audan said.
The SPMC was placed under Code White Alert since they are also catering patients from other provinces not just in the Davao region but also the whole Mindanao.
Audan said that from Dec. 21 when the Code White Alert started, no one has been brought to the SPMC even from neighboring provinces that have no firecrackers ban.
The city has not experienced firecracker-related injuries during Christmas celebration since President Duterte, who, as mayor in 2001, sternly warned against the use of firecrackers.
The city council passed an ordinance totally banning firecrackers in 2002.
The Davao City Police Office said nobody was arrested for violating the firecrackers ban in the city during New Year’s Eve.
Davao City police chief Senior Supt. Alexander Tagum said the 12 police stations in the city did not receive any reports of people using firecrackers and pyrotechnics while celebrating New Year’s Eve.
Tagum thanked Davaoeños for cooperating and supporting the police by following the ordinance. “They might’ve already realized the futility of going against the law,” he said.
He also said the warning of Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte for the immediate arrest of the violators is effective as no one was imprisoned during the holiday season. (Armando Fenequito Jr.)
