QUEZON CITY — The efforts of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to seize DIY boga (improvised cannon) and other illegal pyrotechnic devices as the New Year’s Eve revelry nears has the full support of the toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition.
“We support the ongoing efforts of our law enforcers to seize and destroy these highly dangerous improvised cannons, which can cause eye and burn injuries,” said Aileen Lucero, national coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition. “For the health and safety of everyone, especially the children, we appeal to the public to shift to alternative noisemakers this festive season that will not cause bodily harm, emit toxic smoke, and generate hazardous trash.”
The group, which has been conducting “Iwas Paputoxic” drive since 2006, gave the PNP two thumbs up for the heightened efforts of police units in various parts of the country to protect the public health from dangerous boga and other pyrotechnic devices not permitted by law.
The Rizal Police Provincial Office (RPPO), for example, has confiscated and destroyed 402 pieces of boga fashioned out of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic pipes, tins cans, and plastic bottles a few days before New Year’s Eve.
As reported by the RPPO on its Fb page, the police force is undertaking a vigorous campaign to inform and warn the public against the use of DIY boga and other illegal firecrackers that can injure and damage human health.
At a recent event, the Rizal PNP led the destruction of seized boga, together with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and other force multipliers.
The media also reported PNP’s ongoing search for individuals behind the online tutorial on how to make boga that has been circulating on TikTok.
Based on the latest surveillance data from the Department of Health (DOH), boga has been one of the top culprits of firecracker-related injuries since the monitoring started on December 21. Out of 43 injuries, 37 or 86 percent were due to illegal firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices, including boga.
In January 2024, the DOH reported a 98 percent rise in firecracker-related injuries — from 307 in 2023 to 609 cases in 2024 — with kwitis, 5-star, pla-pla, luces, whistle bomb, boga, and fountain blamed for most of the cases recorded.
Then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo banned the use of “boga” in 2006 after it caused 38 eye injuries and 33 burn injuries, including one case requiring amputation.
Aside from serious physical harm, the EcoWaste Coalition also drew attention to the problem with the disposal of boga made of PVC plastic, noting that the burning of such plastic can lead to the formation and release of highly toxic compounds called dioxins, a class of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) targeted for global reduction if not elimination.
Dioxins can cause cancers and other serious diseases affecting the reproductive, developmental, immune, and nervous systems.
