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Cebu rang in the new year 2009 with fireworks in the sky and fewer injuries caused by exploding firecrackers on the street.
Rainy weather on Dec. 31 and economic hard times were factors in what health authorities noted was a shorter period of noisy revelry.
It took less than 30 minutes for the explosions to die down in Cebu City, where before it started much earlier than midnight and lasted past 1 a.m., said Renan Cimafranca, nurse of the Dept of Health (DOH) 7 Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit.
The DOH said the number of victims went down by 40 percent compared to year-ago levels.
Three persons were hit by stray bullets while 62 others were injured because of firecracker explosions in the whole Central Visayas from the start of the Christmas season in Dec. 19 till, Jan. 1. Last year the total number of victims was 108.
During the New Year revelry, two were wounded by stray bullets in Barili town and Mandaue City while 34 were treated for firecracker injuries.
Barili police confirmed that 23-year-old Cheryl Ubas, of barangay Gunting, was lying in bed when she was hit by stray bullet at 12:01 a.m. on New Year’s day.
She was wounded in the back and taken to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) in Cebu City. The shooter has not been identified.
In the earlier Christmas celebration, 28 persons were injured by firecracker blasts. One was hit by a stray bullet in barangay Banilad, Cebu City.
This figure is still lower by at least 40 percent compared to 108 firecracker-related injuries and 5 stray bullet victims in the previous Christmas season, said Dr. Expedito Medalla, regional health emergency management service coordinator of the DOH 7.
“Maybe people opted to buy food instead of firecrackers’, Cimafranca said.
Health authorities will continue monitoring until Jan. 5.
In the Cebu City Medical Center, 10 firecracker victims were brought for treatment, mostly males.
The youngest was an 8-year-old boy. The oldest was a 76-year-old man.
The “ammunition” used were high-powered items like hotdog, super lolo, and shotgun, which police earlier warned were dangerous and illegal firecrackers, as well are standard fare “kwitis” and plain pulbura.
The annual advocacy of the DOH “FOURmula Kontra Paputok” was partly credited for the downturn in firecracker use.
Medalla said the DOH was thankful for the support of local government units, which designated areas for vending of firecrackers, and for the police efforts to dampen sales of illegal firecrackers.
The people have learned their lesson. There were fewer firecrackers, said Senior Supt. Mariano Natuel Jr., OIC of the Lapu-Lapu police.
“Duna uban tarorot ra gyud ug kaldero ug palanggana.” he said.
Chief Supt. Ronald Roderos, regional police director, said the New Year's celebration was “generally peaceful”, an assessment echoed by Cebu City Police Chief Patrocinio Comendador Jr. Corresponddents Jhunnex Napallacan, Jully Venus Cuizon, Chris Ligan, Chito Aragon
