CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Dr. Eric Tayag’s anti-firecrackers dancing campaign apparently did not impact in Central Luzon where he was once assistant regional director of the Department of Health (DOH).
Final count of the regional DOH indicated that fireworks- related injuries in Central Luzon went up by nine percent compared to the count in 2012. Before the last New Year’s day, Tayag, now chief of the DOH’s national epidemiology department, himself danced on television as part of his department’s campaign to discourage
the use of fireworks, particularly firecrakers for the revelries.
But DOH Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit head Dr. Jessie Fantone disclosed that “there were 499 injuries from December 21, 2013 to January 5, 2014 which is significantly higher compared to the 457 recorded during the previous holiday season,” Among the latest injuries, Fantone noted one case of firecracker ingestion in Bocaue, Bulacan and two cases of stray bullet injuries in the cities of Tarlac and Angeles.
DOH statistics on the last New Year’s day revelries showed piccolo as the primary cause of injuries at 33 percent, followed by kwitis at 16 percent, luces at nine percent, five star firecrackers at eight percent and pla-pla at six percent.
Most of the victims were males belonging to the 1-10 and 11-20 age groups. The leading provinces in the region
with the most injuries were Pampanga with 147, Bulacan, 119, and Tarlac, 66
