BAGUIO CITY: Mayor Mauricio Domogan wants the city council to pass an ordinance that would ban the sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers.

“We need an ordinance that would not only regulate pyrotechnics but would also penalize violators,” Domogan told reporters.

He said that the city’s firecracker ordinance, passed in 1951 and amended in 2009 is no longer applicable because new and more powerful firecrackers have sprouted.

The ordinance passed 62 years ago bans the sale and use of fireworks, except during special occasions where a written permit from the mayor is needed. When the city council amended the ordinance three years ago, the minimum penalty of P5 was increased to P2,000 for those selling or using big triangle, five star, watusi, pla-pla, pillbox, mother rockets, og and firecrackers without labels.

Aside from a P2,000 to P3,000 fine, violators also face imprisonment for a month.

Domogan, who banned the sale of firecrackers last December, stressed the need for an ordinance “with more teeth.”

Because of the ban on firecrackers, the number of injured people during the New Year revelry was only 15.

“It is best that we leave the use of pyrotechnic devices to professionals and regulate or even ban its use to individuals specially to minors, that way we can prevent accidents and injuries,” the mayor said.

Domogan said that the city should identify areas where fireworks and pyrotechnics can be used during Christmas and New Year celebrations.