The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) has once more recorded zero firecracker-related injuries for both the Christmas and New Year’s Eve revelries.
Sr. Supt. Alexander Tagum, the DCPO director, said none of the 12 police stations in the city recorded any violation of the firecracker ban, which started in 2001.
“Davao city is generally peaceful during the Christmas and New year holiday season,” Tagum told TIMES yesterday.
“We have negative firecracker or firearm incident reported.”
He also said they did not intercept firecracker and pyrotechnic contraband during the Yuletide season.
Tagum also said the city government and the DCPO’s massive campaign against the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnics paid off once more.
“We are thankful to all the residents of Davao City of their cooperation at support on the ban on firecrackers,” he said.
Aside from the information drive, the DCPO, Task Force Davao, and the Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC) conducted round-the-clock mobile and foot patrols in residential areas to preempt violations of the ordinance.
PSSCC operation head Angel Sumagaysay said that the zero casualty can be attributed to the cooperation and willingness of Davaoenos to follow the law.
“The people of Davao adhere to the ordinance and the zero incident only showed that people are law-abiding citizens,” Sumagaysay said in a release by the City Information Office.
Earlier, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio appealed to everybody not to burn their money by buying firecrackers, and instead use their money to buy food for the media noche.
It was in 2001 when then mayor and now President Rodrigo Duterte, through an executive order, outlawed the sale and use of firecrackers in the city over the rising number of firecracker-related incidents.
In 2002, the Sangguniang Panlungsod finally passed the firecracker ban. The ban did not stop residents from merry-making during the holidays by banging pots and pans, and also blowing the torotot (blowhorns).
The ban even spawned the annual Torotot Festival.
