'Super Yolanda,' 'Goodbye Napoles' now illegal

MANILA – Policemen on Thursday seized illegal firecrackers in Divisoria, Manila. Senior Superintendent Gilbert Cruz, Manila Police District director, said the seized firecrackers include "Super Yolanda" and "Goodbye Napoles" which both exceeded the explosive content limit of .2 gram or 1/3 of a teaspoon. Cruz said Super Yolanda, which was named after the strongest typhoon to have ever hit land, has about 1 kilogram of explosive content. Goodbye Napoles, on the other hand, was named after alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles. "Itong Yolanda, kapag nagkaroon ng physical contact kung itapat mo ito sa lupa, at nakatabi ito sa mga hard objects like semento o bote, iyung mismong magiging projectile kapag sumabog ito, eh tatama sa iyo, magkakaroon ito ng burning effect. Iyung tearing effect sa laman, magkakaroon," Cruz told Umagang Kay Ganda. Cruz said among those confiscated and will be disposed of include Piccolo, Super Lolo, Sawa, Judas Belt, Five Star, Bin Laden, Super Whistlebomb, Kuwitis, Dancing Firecracker, and Watusi. Under Republic Act 7183, "any person who manufactures, sells, distributes or uses firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices shall be punished by a fine of not less than P20,000 nor more than P30,000, or imprisonment of not less than 6 months nor more than 1 year, or both such fine and imprisonment." The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of firecracker-related injuries is now at 77. In his official Twitter account, DOH Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag said 72 people were wounded by firecrackers as of 6 a.m. today. Only one was reported to have ingested a firecracker, while four were victims of stray bullets. Tayag said 37 of the 72 injuries were due to the banned firecracker Piccolo. He said the figure is 34% lower compared to the 116 cases reported in the same period last year. Last year, the DOH recorded a total of 931 injuries: 904 were due to fireworks, 25 from stray bullet and 2 from firecracker ingestion. Most injuries were caused by Piccolo (236), followed by unknown firecrackers (143), Kwitis (128), Five Star (55) and Pla-pla (42). - with a report from Carolyn Bonquin, ABS-CBN News