BAGUIO CITY — The city government here defied earlier warnings issued by the Department of Health (DoH) against the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials in the Christmas and New Year celebrations as the council approved the regulated sale of firecrackers.

Instead of banning the use of firecrackers for the New Year revelry as being advocated by the health department, the city allowed the sale of firecrackers at the site of the old city auditorium located within the premises of Burnham Park similar to what has been done in the previous years.

However, only the 20 members of the Baguio PaputokVendors are authorized to sell the firecrackers, which already started Sunday and will end by midnight of December 31 this year.

Aside from the guidelines on the sale of pyrotechnic materials set by Republic Act (RA) 7183, other regulations imposed by the local government include: compliance to the waste segregation and cleanliness; hiring of a private security guard, although a standard operating procedure; and security personnel of the Burnham Park will also monitor the vending area.

Furthermore, the vendors are required to use fire-resistant materials for their stalls and that the mandatory threemeter distance to the next stall should be strictly observed.

Every stall is required to have two exits and a drum of water, including at least three pails of water which could be immediately used in case of any untoward incident. The vendors are required to install no smoking signs in strategic areas to serve as guide for the buyers of firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials.

On the other hand, the city government required the members of the Explosive and Ordnance Division of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) to regularly conduct surprise inspections in the vending area to ensure compliance of the vendors to the law prescribing which firecrackers can be sold.