Nearly 200 people were injured during traditionally raucous New Year celebrations in the Philippines, despite Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s order limiting the use of firecrackers, Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque said yesterday.
The order signed in June last year restricted the noisy explosives to community fireworks displays in an attempt to curb the bloody merrymaking that leaves scores of people dead or injured each year.
The Philippines is mainly Catholic, but the violent New Year festivities draw on ancient superstitions and Chinese traditions, with people firing guns and setting off powerful fireworks in the belief the bangs will drive away bad spirits.
Photo: Reuters
Duque said that 191 people were hurt during this year’s revelry — down 77 percent compared with the average over the past five years — but added that his department might recommend a total firecracker ban to ensure zero casualties.
“We are relatively pleased — relative because there are still injuries, but pleased because of the substantial reduction in fireworks-related injuries,” Duque told reporters as he thanked Duterte for issuing the order.
Asked how to further minimize injuries, Duque said: “I think the end goal really is to ban fireworks completely.”
Duterte’s June order stated that firecrackers may only be used in areas approved by local governments and under the supervision of trained and licensed people.
Duque said most of this year’s injuries occurred on the streets of Manila, with illegal matchstick-sized “piccolo” firecrackers remaining the top cause.
Among those hurt was an 11-month-old baby, he added.
Duterte had in 2016 said that firecracker-related injuries were a “very serious public health issue,” adding that he was concerned about children, who make up most of the victims.
As Davao mayor, he in 2002 signed an ordinance that banned the manufacture, sale, distribution, possession and use of firecrackers in the city.
Duterte’s spokesman yesterday said that the president might consider adopting a total firecracker ban nationwide.
“He might, but there may be a need to amend the law,” Harry Roque said.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese