Proposed firecracker ban to hurt 100,000 workers

A local group of manufacturers of fireworks and firecrackers said that thousands of workers in their industry would feel the negative impact of a blanket prohibition on the use of pyrotechnics.Philippine Fireworks Association (PFA) President Joven Ong said last week that at least 100,000 people engaged in the legal manufacturing and sale of these products will be affected by an outright ban.

“To say 100,000 nationwide is being very conservative. A lot of people resell fireworks to augment their income either to have enough for their family to have noche buena or some who rely on this to send their kids to school,” Ong said in a message sent to the Inquirer.

Earlier last week, Ong made a public appeal to Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. to reconsider his call on local governments to pass ordinances that will ban the use of firecrackers.“Whenever there’s a ban, all legal manufacturers will close and follow the ban, but the real culprit in all these accidents and injuries are the illegal ones. They will not close shop and actually earn a lot more after the legal ones follow the ban,” Ong said.“Let’s not reward the illegal manufacturers by having a ban. Instead, [the] government should put more effort in regulating existing laws,” he said further.Abalos made the call to implement a total ban on firecrackers last Dec. 15, citing that Quezon City and Davao had already implemented the measure.Almost a week after this, the Department of Trade and Industry announced that it has heightened its monitoring of the sales of these fireworks in local market places. —Alden M. Monzon INQ