More than 900 people were injured by firecrackers and celebratory gunfire as Filipinos ushered in the new year in frenzied revelry that persisted despite a high-profile government crackdown on dangerous celebrations, officials said yesterday.
The figure -- representing a nearly 50 percent rise in injuries compared with last year's -- included nearly 300 people who were injured in pre-New Year revelry in the last two weeks and more than 600 injuries close to midnight on Sunday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said. Among the injured were 35 people, mostly children, hit by celebratory gunfire.
There were no immediate deaths reported on New Year's Eve, but 25 people perished in a Christmas Day blaze sparked by firecrackers in the central Philippine city of Ormoc.
"This has become a deeply ingrained aspect of our culture," Duque told a news conference as he tried to explain why the annual carnage has persisted despite intense government crackdowns on the use of powerful firecrackers and guns on New Year's Eve.
Health authorities reported seven deaths and 620 injuries from firecrackers and celebratory gunfire last year.
The country's improving economy and heavy inflow of money sent home by millions of foreign-based Filipino workers may have also spurred robust sales in firecrackers, he said.
"Literally, they have more money to burn," he said.
Superstitious Filipinos believe that noisy New Year's celebrations, largely influenced by Chinese tradition, drive away evil and misfortune.
Each year celebrations go too far in the Philippines, as powerful firecrackers explode in crowded neighborhoods, often during drinking sprees. Many Filipinos fire guns in the air and set car tires ablaze in the streets, making many urban areas resemble war zones.
National police chief Director-General Oscar Calderon ordered a crackdown on illegal firecracker use and celebratory gunfire ahead of the celebrations, threatening to arrest violators.
Despite the efforts, powerful bomb-like firecracker blasts reverberated across Manila close to midnight. As the revelry waned, sirens of ambulance vans loaded with the injured wailed in many smoke-choked neighborhoods.
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