Philippine Daily Inquirer Digital Edition

POLICE BOOST CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL FIRECRACKER MAKERS IN BULACAN

STA. MARIA, BULACAN—Police in this province have intensified their crackdown on illegal manufacturers of firecrackers following an explosion at a factory in this town that left at least eight people injured on Thursday.

Police Col. Relly Arnedo, Bulacan police director, said on Friday that he had directed all chiefs of police in areas where firecrackers are being manufactured to make an inventory of all licensed makers to easily identify the illegal ones.

Most of the firecrackers produced in Bulacan come from the towns of Sta. Maria, Bocaue, San Rafael, Baliwag, Angat, Norzagaray and Doña Remedios Trinidad.

Thursday’s explosion was traced to an unlicensed backyard factory owned by Marissa Victoria, 58, in Sitio Manggahan, Barangay Pulong Buhangin here.

According to the investigators, Victoria sustained minor burns and bruises, while her son, Monrenzo, 26, suffered third-degree burns in different parts of his body. Monrenzo was confined at the Rogaciano Mercado Hospital in this town on Friday.

The other victims were all workers hired by Victoria, identified as Jessie Cruz, Lourdes Policarpio, Teofila Horfilla, Mary Ann Horfilla, Amanda Vicente and Christine Amper. They suffered minor bruises and were already discharged after treatment from the same hospital.

No permits

Victoria is now facing a police complaint for violation of Republic Act 7183 for the illegal manufacture of firecrackers filed before the Bulacan provincial prosecutor’s office on Friday, said Police Col. Christian Alicod, Sta. Maria police chief.

“We will go after these illegal manufacturers, like this one in

Sta. Maria. Many of these backyard factories are set up beside licensed makers to hide their illegal operations,” Arnedo said.

He said Victoria’s backyard factory in Barangay Pulong Buhangin produced skyrocket (kuwitis), sawa (500 rounds of firecrackers) and five star.

An initial investigation said the owner had no permit from the local government and her factory was located beside a licensed firecracker manufacturer.

Police said the site of the explosion was also near Angel M. Del Rosario High School, which immediately suspended classes to ensure the safety of its students, who rushed outside their classrooms after hearing the blast.

The explosion also damaged the windows, ceilings and roofs of nearby houses, investigators said.

Cause

A firecracker being made by Victoria’s two workers suddenly caught fire and was tossed to a pile of other firecrackers, causing a series of blasts that wrecked the backyard factory, said Arnado.

According to Arnedo, about 20 licensed manufacturers and 100 dealers of firecrackers were on their list, and the number could still grow during the peak season from December to January when consumption increases in time for the Christmas and New Year revelries.

In Bocaue, known as the “fireworks capital” of the country, buyers began to troop to a stretch of at least 100 stalls selling authorized kinds of firecrackers.

Lea Alapide, president of the Philippine Pyrotechnic Manufacturers and Dealers Association Inc., called on its members and the public to be more vigilant against illegal manufacturers to help protect the local fireworks industry.

“The illegal manufacturers of firecrackers are not paying taxes, and yet they are the ones who are causing these explosions, tarnishing the reputation of the fireworks industry as a whole,” Alapide told the Inquirer in a separate interview.

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2022-11-06T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-11-06T07:00:00.0000000Z

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Philippine Daily Inquirer