Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte has regulated the manufacture, sale and use of firecrackers throughout the city, and allowed fireworks display only in public places as approved by the city government.
“Private households are hereby prohibited from using firecrackers and staging their own fireworks display,” Belmonte said, adding that only approved firecrackers and pyrotechnics are allowed for use in public places.
Explaining her decision to issue Executive Order No. 54, S-2022, the lady mayor stressed that the Department of Health (DOH) recorded a 47 percent increase in the number of firecrackers and fireworks-related emergencies and injuries due to the unregulated and indiscriminate use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices in 2021 compared to the total number of cases the previous year.
“We also want to protect homes, commercial buildings and other structures against incidental fires and to lessen the harmful effects of hazardous chemicals and pollutants.”
“We want to minimize, if not totally eliminate, the number of firecracker-related injuries and casualties. We also want to protect homes, commercial buildings and other structures against incidental fires and to lessen the harmful effects of hazardous chemicals and pollutants,” she pointed out.
In her order, Belmonte said permission or authorization by the Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS) is needed before a particular public place may be used for the fireworks display.
In an earlier interview, she said Quezon Memorial Circle and select malls such as Eastwood, SM and Robinsons will be having their own fireworks display in different venues for the public to enjoy.
Belmonte also limited the sale of permissible firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices only within shopping malls with clearance from the DPOS and a special permit from the Business Permits and Licensing Department (BPLD), in accordance with Ordinance No. SP-2618, S-2017.
“Selling, sharing or giving firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices to minors is also not allowed.”
“The sale of the same in places such as public sidewalks, tiangges, stores and similar establishments shall be strictly prohibited,” she said, adding that “selling, sharing or giving firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices to minors is also not allowed”.
The manufacture, use, sale and distribution of other types of fireworks and pyrotechnic devices that could endanger the life and limb of the public are prohibited.
Belmonte has tasked the Barangay and Community Relations Department (BCRD) to immediately disseminate the guidelines to all 142 barangays.
Barangay officials are also ordered to provide the necessary assistance to law enforcement agencies and report to the police any violation.
The Quezon City Police District (QCPD), for its part, is mandated to strictly implement the guidelines and other laws and regulations related to regulation and firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices.
On top of penalties imposed by Republic Act 7183 and the Fire Code of the Philippines, violators will receive a fine of P5,000 or one-year imprisonment, or both at the discretion of the court, under Ordinance No. SP-2618, S-2017.
Ordinance No. SP-2587, S-2017 imposes a one-year jail term, or a fine of P5,000, or both, at the discretion of the court, on anyone caught selling, giving and sharing any type of firecracker to children.
