DILG urges local execs to mount public drive vs 'boga'

2007/12/28

DILG urges local execs to mount public drive vs 'boga'

Manila (28 December) -- The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is calling on local chief executives nationwide to help raise public awareness over the dangers of using polyvinyl chloride pipe, locally known as "boga," in the ongoing holiday festivities, as several cases of injuries have been attributed to the use of this device in last year's revelry.

DILG Undersecretary Austere Panadero said that in December 2006, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported 30 cases of injured persons, most of them children, as a result of lighting the "boga" in celebrating the New Year.

The "boga" is a popular bazooka-looking device that uses denatured alcohol to produce a booming sound.

"To address the potential incidence of injuries through the use of 'boga' this holiday season, all provincial governors, mayors, and punong barangays are encouraged to take the lead in the conduct of information campaigns on the danger that it may cause to the user or to the others," Panadero said.

Panadero, by authority of DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno, issued a memorandum on this issue addressed to local chief executives and DILG regional directors in response to the request for support by the Department of Health (DOH) in discouraging the public from lighting "boga" pipes.

The DOH had reported that from December 21 last year to January 1, 2007, more than 600 people were injured by firecrackers while 24 others were hit by stray bullets. Many of the victims were children, whose fingers were either maimed or amputated.

He also urged governors and mayors to enact ordinances banning the manufacture, sale and distribution, and use of the "boga" in their respective localities, if they still have not undertaken this course of action to help keep the public safe during the holiday celebrations.

Panadero also encouraged local officials to promote alternative forms of revelry to help ensure zero casualties this coming New Year.

PNP chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr. earlier ordered police officials to confiscate prohibited firecrackers and illegally manufactured pyrotechnic devises to help attain its zero-casualty target for the holiday season.

Razon tasked the Civil Security Group (CSG) to be the primary unit of the PNP in ensuring the quality and safety of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices and ensure that these are being sold only by authorized distributors and manufacturers.

The PNP chief also tasked his regional commanders to lead the campaign against loose firearms and the illegal or indiscriminate firing of guns during the New Year's Eve revelry. (OPS)

Cabatuan.com - Kasimanwa.com - Austere Panadero