Nov 212017
 

Quezon City has enacted an ordinance imposing a total ban on the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices during festivity and other occasions in all public places of the city.

The move was hailed by various non-government organizations in Quezon City as an essential health, environmental and safety measure worth replicating by other local government units (LGUs).

QC Ordinance No. 2618 Series of 2017 states the ban is being placed in time for the upcoming Christmas holiday season when firecracker explosions are known to cause respiratory ailments, injuries, deaths, and damages to properties.

The Quezon City barangay league is in charge of implementing the ban with the assistance of the Department of Public Order and Safety and the Quezon City Police District.

“We laud our local officials for enacting this ordinance that promises health and environmental benefits beyond measure for the people of Quezon City… Metro Manila and the whole nation will be watching as Quezon City enforces its ban on firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices for the common good,” said Thony Dizon, Chemical Safety Campaigner for EcoWaste Coalition in a statement.

“Children are at high risk for firecracker-related injuries that can seriously maim or kill… Quezon City’s ban on firecrackers, which all parents should support, will put an end to these gory stories,” said Ines Fernandez, founder of Arugaan, a breastfeeding advocacy group promoting child and maternal health.

Clean air advocate Tessa Oliva, Executive Director of Green Convergence, said: “Quezon City’s ban on firecrackers is good news for our noses and lungs as it will cut the discharge of dirty and toxic fumes that we inhale, which can aggravate the health conditions of adults and kids, especially those with asthma and other respiratory ailments. Since air pollutants know no boundaries, we hope other LGUs will ban firecrackers and fireworks as well.”

“With the ban on firecrackers, we hope to see cleaner streets come New Year’s Day. We look forward to ushering in 2018 with no more firecracker wrappers and debris to sweep and dispose of. The ban will surely cut the quantity and toxicity of residual waste that our communities throw away during New Year and other special occasions,” said Sonia Mendoza, Chairman, Mother Earth Foundation.

For Anna Cabrera, Executive Director of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society, “the prohibition on firecrackers will be very beneficial to animals, especially for pet as well as stray cats and dogs who suffer a lot from the ear-splitting sounds of firecracker explosions,” adding that “other LGUs should follow Quezon City’s example.”

“As a resident of an urban poor community in Quezon City, the ban of firecrackers, we hope, will reduce the threat of fires in our neighborhood, as well as put more nutritious food on the table with the money saved from not buying firecrackers,” said Mercy Donor of Piglas Kababaihan.

The new ordinance signed in October specifies that the ban covers public places such as any street, road, alley, thoroughfare, open space, plaza, park, basketball court, and other similar places.

Firecrackers can still be approved for use in festivities with a clearance from the Department of Public Order and Safety.

The post QC bans firecrackers, praised by NGOs for health, environmental and safety measures appeared first on Good News Pilipinas.

Sep 012017
 
Globe supports 21st century learning in QC public schools

Globe Telecom is supporting the 21st century learning of Quezon City high schoolers by providing information and communications technology tools. Masambong High School officials withGlobe Telecom representatives together present the Global Filipino School mobile cart Globe’s Global Filipino School (GFS) program has added Quezon City to its growing number of supported schools through the introduction of GFS to Masambong High School (MHS), the 1st public school in QC to benefit from the program. Masambong High School’s 1,300 students and 65 teaching and non-teaching staff will now have access to the GFS e-library with infrastructure support and ICT equipment such as the Globe Digital Learning Lab – a mobile cart of ICT gadgets composed of Globe Prepaid Supersticks, charging station, netbooks, tablets, and projectors powered with superior internet connectivity.  The GFS Lab can be used to teach different subject matters whether inside or outside the classroom to encourage creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. The Creative Space can, likewise, be used as a teacher training center for the DepEd Division of Quezon City as part of the partnership between Globe Telecom and DepEd.  Under the program, MHS teachers were given training on how to seamlessly use internet connectivity and ICT tools in their subject expertise.  The teachers in turn, are responsible for sharing the knowledge with neighboring schools as MHS will be serving as a teacher training hub for DepEd Division of QC on the use of internet connectivity and ICT tools in the classroom.  Yoly Crisanto, Globe Senior Vice President Read More …

Jan 072014
 
QC boy hurt by firecracker dies; revelry-related injuries exceeds 1,000

Christian Jay Comedor, 10 years old, of Baesa in Quezon City, was rushed by her mother, Julie, on New Year’s Eve (December 31, 2013) at the Quezon City General Hospital for injuries caused by the infamous piccolo firecracker. It is a belief in the mostly Catholic nation that making noise to welcome the New Year drives evil spirits away and ushers in good luck. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – A 12-year-old boy who was rendered brain-dead after suffering a head injury from a firecracker explosion has died, but will “live on” after his family decided to donate his organs, the Department of Health said Monday. National Epidemiology Center head Dr. Enrique Tayag also said the number of revelry-related injuries to welcome 2014 breached the 1,000 mark mainly due to piccolo. “12-year-old boy dies but ‘lives’ as [his] family donates his kidneys; [DOH Secretary Enrique] Ona condoles with and praises [his] family for this act of heroism and kindness,” Tayag said on his Twitter account. Tayag also said this year’s revelry-related injuries has passed the 1,000 mark “because many revelers used the illegal, imported piccolo.” As of 6 a.m. of Jan. 5, he said there were at least 1,018 revelry-related injuries, including 997 from setting off or handling consumer fireworks, two from ingesting fireworks, and 19 from stray bullets. Of the 997 fireworks-related injuries, he said 376 or 38 percent were from the piccolo. In the same period in 2012, he said, there were 931 revelry-related injuries, including 904 from fireworks, Read More …

Jul 062013
 
Two children aboard carjacked AUV in QC released in Manila

Two girls who were aboard an Asian utility vehicle that was carjacked by a group of armed men early Friday in Quezon City were released in Manila before dawn Saturday. Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group head Senior Superintendent Renato Gumban said the two were released at 2:30 a.m., radio dzBB’s Paulo Santos reported. Gumban cited information reaching him indicating the children were abandoned near a fast-food outlet at the corner of Taft Avenue and Quirino Avenue. No ransom was reportedly paid for their release. On Friday, armed men carjacked a green Mitsubishi Adventure AUV (ZGK-141) along Regalado Avenue in Quezon City. The driver, who managed to escape, said his vehicle was hit from behind by a white Montero-type sport-utility vehicle driven by the suspects. When he got down, three armed men from the Montero poked firearms at him and held him, but he managed to slip away and flee. The men then drove off with the green AUV, with the two girls still on board. — LBG, GMA News

May 272013
 
Singaporean killed in QC home; cops eye victim’s helper

By Julie M. Aurelio Philippine Daily Inquirer 3:07 pm | Monday, May 27th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines — A Singaporean was found dead inside his Quezon City home with a single hack wound in what police suspected to be a robbery carried out by the victim’s helper. The body of Peter Lee, 50, a resident of Detroit Street in Barangay (village) Pinagkaisahan, was discovered at the receiving area of his house at around 4:20 p.m. Sunday. Police Officer 2 Rhic Pittong, the case investigator, said the foreigner suffered a hack wound in the nape. The victim is believed to have been robbed since his wallet and IPhone 4 were not found, although no other items were missing. It was Lee’s driver, Julio Cariño Jr., who discovered the body upon the driver’s arrival from Dau, Pampanga. Cariño last saw Lee alive after his boss dropped the driver off at around 12:44 p.m. on Sunday at a bus station for his trip to Dau. The driver said the victim’s teenaged driver, a certain JR was with them at that time. Pittong suspected that the helper, said to be 16 to 18 years old, 5’3″ to 5’4″ tall and of medium built, might be involved in the killing. Cariño claimed that when he got back from Dau in the afternoon, JR and his personal belongings were no longer in the house. The driver also recalled hearing JR getting scolded by their boss although the driver did not know the reason for the scolding. The Read More …