FOR the second year in a row, Northern Mindanao posted zero casualty due to firecrackers for the Christmas celebration, data from the Department of Health (DOH) regional office showed.
Nur Ian Caridad, Department of Health (DOH)-Northern Mindanao education promotion officer 3, said partner agencies have so far reported zero cases from fireworks-related injuries as of Monday, December 26.
The DOH had placed the entire region under code white alert last December 21.
Caridad said the police also reported zero incident of stray bullet in the region.
“Since nag-start ang declaration sa code white (the decleration of code white started), zero case as of Monday morning. Last year zero gihapon ta sa pagtabo sa Christmas pero sa December 25 sa hapon naa nay report(casualties during the Christmas eve but on December 25 afternoon, there was a report),” Caridad said.
But, Caridad said, the monitoring will continue until the code white declaration is lifted on January 5, next year.
Caridad added the intensified information drive against the negative effects of firecrackers and the late issuance of permits to fireworks vendors contributed to the zero-casualty count so far.
The “Oplan Iwas Paputok” campaign kicked off last December 12 in Cagayan de Oro and was officially launched by the DOH-Northern Mindanao last December 19.
“Late na nag-issue og permit sa mga mamaligyaay. Sa atong launching sa campaign, target nato ang 10-14 years old nga bracket nga maoy kasagara biktima sa pabuto (The permit was issued late. In the launching of the campaign, its target are the 10-14 years old, whom the frequent victims of firecracker),” Caridad said.
The DOH-Northern Mindanao is hoping the zero record will be maintained in the new year celebration.
“We are hoping but we are not expecting kay pareha last year nga naa gyud report sa pagtabo sa new year (just like last year, there were reported incidents on New Year’s eve),” Caridad said.
Caridad said all government hospitals in the region like the Northern Mindanao Medical Center continue to be on alert and ready to treat firecracker-related injuries.
Caridad also lauded the continuing support of all the members of the Task Force Firecrackers in the region.
