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By Katrice R. Jalbuena, Reporter
The number of firework-related injuries reported
for the holiday season stands at 446, the Department of Health said.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd on Tuesday
announced that the initial report from satellite hospitals
nationwide to the National Epidemiology Center of the Health
department placed the revelry toll at 446, with 439 from
firecrackers, seven to stray bullets and zero from watusi (yellow
phosphate) ingestion from December 21, 2007, to January 1, 2008.
This toll, Duque said, was a 46-percent decrease
in the number of injuries reported for the same period last year
when the number reached 831. By the time the last report was
submitted on January 5, 2007, the toll was 1,267 injured due to
firecrackers or stray bullets and two dead. Three hundred thirteen
persons sustained blast or burn injuries, and 96 suffered eye
injuries. Only 29 of them required amputation, however.
For December 21, 2007, to January 1, 2008, the
Health secretary noted also a marked drop in the number of cases of
severe injuries leading to death and disability. “It would seem
that it is indeed an effective strategy to invest in awareness
campaigns to show the public the incontrovertible horrors of losing
their limbs and possibly their lives due to firecrackers.”
Though reporting period will continue until
January 5, Duque said he is confident that the number of injuries
will not rise dramatically in the next few days.
Thirty-six of the 50 sentinel hospitals
nationwide or 72 percent have submitted their reports. Available
figures said the National Capital Region (Metro Manila) had the most
number of cases with 319, or 72 percent. Manila had the most number
of injures at 99 cases and Quezon City, 62 cases.
These are the lowest numbers of injuries
recorded since the Health department expanded its monitoring to 50
sites in 1999, when the count was 1,568. The toll firecrackers took
on the lives and limbs of Filipinos since has been 1,325 in 2000;
594 in 2001; 588 in 2002; 956 in 2003; 1015 in 2004; 831 in 2005;
and 1,267 in 2006.
The increase in 2006 was blamed on the rise in
popularity of the firecrackers boga and piccolo,” said Dr. Eric
Tayag, director of the National Epidemiology Center. He added that
the ban on these firecrackers could lessen the toll.
Tayag said there have only been three reported
incidents of boga injuries. Piccolo, however, has risen in infamy
with more than 15 percent of blast or burn and eye injuries
attributed to its use.
Dr. Yolanda Olivares of the department’s
National Center for Disease Prevention and Control said they are
studying trending of injuries and deaths caused by pyrotechnic
devices. When completed, she added, they will use it as basis for
proposing amendments to Republic Act 7183.
R.A. 7183 regulates the sale, distribution and
manufacture of fireworks and pyrotechnics. It carries a list of
legal firecrackers and sets standards for their manufacture.
Duque supports moves to amend the act. “We
need to not only improve quality of the product but also the working
conditions of those who manufacture fireworks. The recent accidents
in Bocaue [Bulacan] and Cavite would seem to imply that it is not
just the buyer who is potentially in danger from fireworks but even
the workers.”
Of the reported cases, 136, or 30 percent
involved children 10 years and younger. The youngest to have been
injured was a 4-month-old girl who was taken to the East Avenue
Medical Center in Quezon City with injuries from a thrown piccolo on
New Year’s Eve.
The oldest reported to have been injured was an
84-year-old woman who was taken to the Philippine General Hospital
in Manila on New Year’s Eve with injuries to her right hand from a
thrown kwitis.
Of the injured, 350, or 78 percent were male and
216, or 48 percent directly handled the firecrackers. Forty-two, or
9 percent admitted to being under the influence of alcohol.
Besides the National Capital Region, firecracker
accidents were also reported in Region 1, which had 26 cases; Region
2 with three; Region 3 with 12; Region 5 with 10; Region 6 with 27;
Region 7 with 14; Region 8 with four; Region 9 with one; Region 10
with eight; Region 11 with three; and Cordillera Administrative
Region with 18.
Stray bullets
The Philippine National Police is working
closely with the Health department in the monitoring of stray-bullet
injuries.
Police Chief Silverio Alarcio Jr. of the
Directorate for Operations said they are investigating 11 reported
incidents of illegal discharge resulting in stray-bullet injuries.
He added that they first determine whether a stray-bullet injury is
crime-related and pinpoint the source of the discharge.
Police have reports from the Manila Police
District of two incidents; Southern Police District with two
incidents; one incident from Region 1; one from Region 3; and five
from Region 11.
National Police Chief Gen. Avelino Razon Jr.
said the big decrease in the number of victims of firecrackers and
stray bullets can be credited to the intensified campaign of the
police and health officials against the use of illegal firecrackers
and indiscriminate firing.
In the past, policemen, including firemen, and
military personnel were punished or dismissed from the service for
using their service firearms in welcoming the New Year.
Alarcio said they will confiscate any bogas,
piccolos or other illegal fireworks that are seen being used or
sold, after which the items will be disposed of properly.
Authorities say the proper way to dispose of
firecrackers is to soak them in water and then bury them. The public
is advised to turn over any firecrackers to the police for proper
disposal.
Tondo suicide
Meanwhile, a 29-year-old man from Dahlia Street
in Manila’s Tondo district apparently committed suicide the day
before New Year’s Eve.
Dr. Noel Coronel of the Tondo Medical Center
said the man died at the hospital.
The man’s relatives told doctors that he had
been severely depressed over family problems and had been drinking
heavily.
He had ingested around 10 sticks of yellow
phosphate or watusi. Watusi is highly toxic and ingesting even one
stick can have severe consequences on one’s health.
-- Rommel C. Lontayao and Anthony Vargas
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