By Gideon C. Corgue
PAGADIAN CITY – The City Health Office (CHO) here has recorded three cases of stray bullet injuries and another three cases of firecracker-related injuries during the Christmas and New Year revelries.
Based on CHO’s injury registry provided by Joey Quipot, public health nurse and Oplan Iwas Paputok 2014 coordinator, it showed that three persons were hit by stray bullets during Christmas and New Year celebration comprising a 50-year old man from Lison Valley, a 19-year old female from Sta. Maria, and a 19-year old man from Baking, Lakewood, Zamboanga del Sur. The firecracker victims were a 10-year old boy from Tiguma, another 11 year-old boy from Bomba, and 20-year old male from Dao.
Quipot said victims were confined at the sentinel hospitals, which are accredited by the Department of Health (DOH).
Quipot also disclosed that the last time stray bullet injuries were reported was on Dec. 24, 2012 in Barangay Balangasan, wounding two children.
Earlier in an “Iwas Paputok” orientation for media practitioners conducted by by DOH-IX at Hotel Guillermo here, Regional Information Officer Teresita Dela Cruz said the DOH-IX had recorded 1,018 firecracker-related cases in Zamboanga Peninsula from Dec. 21, 2012 to Jan. 1, 2013 from 50 sentinel hospitals across the region.
Dela Cruz said among the 10 injuries from sentinel hospitals of Zamboanga del Sur, eight were due to firecrackers and two to stray bullets with victims aged 6 to10 years old.
Dela Cruz in phone interview said the this year’s statistics is frustrating, as the DOH and local government units did their best to educate the public about the danger of using firecrackers during revelries.
Dela Cruz said the health department had done extra efforts in educating the populace about the danger of using firecrackers, especially the lethal piccolo, 5-star, Kwitis and Super Lolo, as it pushed for the use of alternative noise-making devices.