Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) director, Police Senior Superintendent Francisco Ebreo, led the destruction of confiscated pyrotechnics, including firecrackers and PVC cannons, or “boga,” yesterday morning at their headquarters in Barangay Taculing.

Ebreo said the firecrackers, most of which were illegal, such as candle bombs, five star, kamara, pla-pla, and judas belt, were seized by the city’s various police stations, while the others were voluntarily surrendered.

According to Ebreo, the surrendered firecrackers are proof vendors still wanted to sell such contraband despite being aware of the items being illegal.

He added, there has been no change in the number of firecracker-related injuries in the city, which stands at eight.

Meanwhile, Ebreo stated, even though the government has become more strict in regulating firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices, some sellers and manufacturers are not showing concern for the safety of their clients.

“The eight injured were all minors,” he stated. “From what we can see, parents themselves have become too lax; leaving their children to use firecracker unsupervised.”

The confiscated firecrackers were destroyed by first dipping them in water and then burying them in the ground. Conversely, PVC cannons were destroyed either by hand or having them run over by a police vehicle./DGB, WDJ