An auspicious sign

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

It was indeed a relief to see the front pages of newspapers after the New Year's celebration without the gory pictures of victims of firecracker blasts writhing in pain in hospitals and clinics all over the country. We had become so accustomed to seeing adults as well as children with their fingers or arms, blown off, and some with their faces mutilated by carelessly handled pyrotechnics. Over and over, we saw how such items, supposed to add to the festive atmosphere of the parting of the years, have turned out not only to be manglers, but even killers.

This time, thank God, the headlines even noted that despite almost a thousand - so far recorded - treated for injuries, there were no fatalities. That is something to really appreciate, because, as the years go on, manufacturers of pyrotechnics keep on developing more potent and deadly ones.

For this new record, let us give credit to all those who relentlessly disseminated information about the dangers of firecrackers, the proper ways of handling them, and the drive against those who illegally produce those which prove to be the most harmful. Let us also credit our people, especially parents and guardians, for impressing on the minds of the young, the dangers posed by pyrotechnics.

As for us in the media, we are heartened by the fact that our own efforts to contribute to the campaign against harmful pyrotechnics by way of warnings, and especially by the publication or showing of the grisly results of their mishandling, obviously have brought some results. The fact alone that no lives were lost to firecrackers blasts as 2006 ended, is already an auspicious sign for this New Year.*