The City Hall of Zamboanga. (PNA file photo)
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar on Wednesday sternly warned residents against the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices during the New Year revelry.
Salazar reminded the residents of City Ordinance 431 that prohibits the sale, manufacture, and use of powerful firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices in this city.
The ordinance was enacted after the 21-day Zamboanga siege in 2013 that displaced more than 100,000 people.
The siege involved hundreds of rogue Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) members attempting to raise the flag of the self-proclaimed Bangsamoro Republic at the Zamboanga City Hall.
Salazar said the continued ban on firecrackers in this city does not only form part of the coronavirus disease health protocols but because of the people’s trauma from the siege seven years ago.
“The fear and the pain remain until today,” she said, adding that residents should instead use other merry-making alternatives to welcome the New Year. (PNA)
