More than half of the firecracker-related injuries in Western Visayas this month were caused by boga or an improvised cannon, data from the Police Regional Office (PRO-6) showed.
From December 16 to 30, PRO-6 recorded 41 injuries, of which 25 were hurt due to boga.
Iloilo accounted for the highest boga injuries in the region at 13, followed by Negros Occidental with 5, Capiz with 3, and Antique and Guimaras with 2 each.
Boga is commonly made of PVC pipes or empty tin cans. Fueled by denatured alcohol, it can make a very loud sound when ignited.
Brigadier General Jack Wanky, PRO-6 director, said boga is “very dangerous,” and thus should be totally banned by local government units (LGUs).
According to the police chief, Western Visayas has the highest firecracker-related incidents in the country so far.
As of Dec. 29, PRO-6 has confiscated 1,700 illegal firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices and 426 boga devices.
“We are encouraging alternative and safe ways to welcome the New Year. It is already our culture to create noise during New Year [celebrations] to drive out evil spirits, and we usually use banned firecrackers,” Wanky said.
“Let us resort to other safer means like torotot (trumpet) and our traditional ways like clanging cans and other aluminum products,” he further said.IMT
