Garin urges parents: Keep children away from fireworks

MANILA, Philippines – With the majority of fireworks-related incidents (FWRI) in the country involving young children, Health Secretary Janette Garin again called on parents to closely monitor their children so they would be safe from firecrackers and other possible injuries as New Year’s Eve draws nearer.

“Sa mga magulang, paulit-ulit na i-remind [ang mga kabataan], ‘wag tumanggap ng regalo na paputok, ‘wag magpapaputok, at ‘wag mamulot ng [paputok sa kalsada],” Garin told Rappler in a phone interview on Wednesday, December 30.

(To the parents, continously remind [your] children not to accept firecrackers as gifts, don’t use firecrackers, and don’t pick up stray ones on the road.)

Garin noted that most of the firecracker-related injuries reported to the Department of Health were caused by “inactive igniters” that explode when victims pick them up.

She also alerted parents to be mindful of indiscriminate firing, stressing that some children would not know that they had been hit by a stray bullet. 

“Iyong ibang mga bata, ‘yung natatamaan ng ligaw na bala, di nila alam na bala [and tumama sa kanila]. ‘Yung mga description nung bata, parang bato. ‘Pag biglaan may batong tinapon o [tumusok], dalhin na agad [sa ospital].”

(Those kids who were hit by stray bullets don’t know that they had been shot. Their description is, it was like a rock. So if [your kids] were suddenly hit by a “rock,” bring them to the hospital immediately.)

As of Wednesday morning, the DOH recorded 3 incidents of stray bullet incidents. This includes the death of a 9-year-old girl in Bulacan, the first death caused by a stray bullet this Christmas season.

A day before New Year’s Eve, when Filipinos traditionally light fireworks to welcome the new year, the number of FWRIs rose to 148 from 131 recorded Tuesday, the DOH said.

The figure, however, is 3% lower than the 5-year average from 2010-2014, and 16% lower compared to figures during the same period last year.

Almost half or 45% of the documented FWRIs came from Metro Manila.

Meanwhile, 120 cases or 83% involved children under age 14. – Rappler.com