The health minister said Sunday that fears that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte would severely punish revelers celebrating the New Year with firecrackers had caused a “remarkable” drop in injuries.
The Philippines holds an annual New Year’s Eve orgy through which tons of of individuals are maimed as people set off firecrackers and shoot guns in a loud and raucous nighttime celebration.
People are actually afraid to set off firecrackers due to president. They feel like they may in some way get caught or punished
Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial, nevertheless, said the variety of injuries during this 12 months’s revelry was the bottom in 10 years after Duterte said he was considering repeating a ban on firecrackers he introduced when he was mayor of his southern hometown of Davao.
“People are afraid to set off firecrackers now because of the president,” Ubial said. “They feel like they will somehow get caught or be punished.”
Ubial said 350 people have been injured by firecrackers and fireworks this 12 months, compared with a 10-year average of 1,000.
Duterte, 71, has faced criticism world wide, including from the United States and the United Nations, over a war on drugs that has killed greater than 5,000 people.
Duterte won a landslide in last 12 months’s elections on a promise to eradicate drugs by killing tens of 1000’s of criminals. He also promised to implement Davao-style law and order measures across the country, including a smoking ban in restaurants and hotels and restrictions on drinking in public places.
Last month, Duterte said he would issue an order banning people from using firecrackers, limiting their use to local fireworks displays.
“The least I can say or do is warn that this is very, very dangerous,” he said while waiting for the order to be issued.
Duterte expressed concern about children, who make up the vast majority of the victims.
Ubial said the trend continued this 12 months, with the three-year-old suffering a hand injury in Cabanatuan in central Luzon.
The worst case involved a 15-year-old girl who fell right into a coma after a stray bullet hit her in the top as she watched a fireworks display in Manila’s neighboring Malabon district.
“This is one of our saddest incidents,” Ubial said. “Even if the number drops to 350 now [injuries]It’s still a lot of misery.”
This article appeared within the print edition of the South China Morning Post as: ‘Fear of Duterte’ results in fewer fireworks injuries
