Firecrackers in 1950's

A police officer came over my office the other day to ask if the Sanggunian has any relevant legislation regulating the selling or display of firecrackers especially during the Christmas season. I responded in the negative.

Balete ranks among the few municipalities in Aklan to have the "luxury" of  having a firetruck and more importantly, the presence of personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection. Armed with a Comprehensive Land Use Plan and Zoning Ordinance, and the mandate of the BFP to implement and enforce the provisions of the Fire Code, the Sanggunian is spared from legislating "more" ordinances concerning the regulation of those firecrackers that stray into our quiet town in this time of the year. It may of archival interest however to mention that the Municipal Council has an ordinance on the matter as early as 1956.

On February 1, 1956, the Municipal Council of Balete, then part of the Province of Capiz, and composed of the following:
Mr. Apolinario Cleope, Municipal Mayor; Mr. Patrocinio Lachica, Vice Mayor; Mr. Roberto Sabla-on, Councilor; Mr. Blas Cortes, Councilor, Mr. Ludovico Yasa, Councilor; Mr. Agaton Recidoro, Councilor; Mr. Hernan Cuyong, Councilor
passed and approved Ordinance No. 1, entitled, "An ordinance prohibiting the storag, sale, display, carrying and/or exploding of big firecrackers classified as dynamites or explosives."  Absent during the session was Mr. Ludovico Villanueva, also a Municipal Councilor.

What about those big firecrackers? The council identified them as "Bawang", "Atomic Bomb", "Atomic Bomb Jr." etc. The penalty for violating this ordinance involves a fine of not less than Php. 50 but not to exceed Php. 200 and the imprisonment of not less than 10 days and a maximum of 6 months at the discretion of the court.

I am having a hard time appreciating those "big firecrackers" but some "old friends" intimated that they were indeed "nasty ones" that our delinquent youths of today should be prevented from laying a hand on lest they cease to be "the hope of our fatherland."



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Something About Tumbo (Cara y Cruz): A Hypothesis

Image
They say that mahjong is just a diversion, a recreation of some sort of the bored and the retired. But they say that cara y cruz is a different case. However you look at it--in both sides of the coin (pun intended), it is gambling and therefore those who indulged in it (read, the poor ones) are playing in conflict with law. And so, since yesteryears, people accepted those facts. Mahjong is recreational while cara y cruz or tumbo is gambling and illegal at that. An Alfonso showing its head and tail or if your prefer its "hari" & "corona" But I was amused at the scene of a group of individuals by an "island" at corner T.M. Kalaw and Taft Avenue I happened to pass by while doing research at the National Archives of the Philippines sometime in August 2010. I just alighted from the Light Rail Transit (LRT) at UN Station and was finding my way to cross T.M. Kalaw when I noticed a bunch of lot playing cara y cruz on the elevated concrete "isla
Read more

SOOTHING AS NIGHT WINDS ARE: An Interpretation of the poem by that title by Salvador B. Espinas

Image
Love is gentle, love is quiet Like any distant star; In loving by which we approximate the nature of love, we do not coerce those we love—as much as possible we give room for freedom to grow and respect each other’s independence, i.e., each other’s time of searching. In loving, the lover is like the distant star, manifesting his presence and yet quietly, not trying to obstruct or block the path of the beloved. He stands besides quietly assuring her of his gentle presence and constant attention. Love is beauty, love is music Soothing as night winds are. Lovers are enchanted by the wonders of creation. One who is in loved would often quips that everything seems beautiful and that “ life has music, rhythm and rhyme” –which actually is. Somehow, love enables man and woman to see reality as God sees it. As even in times of trouble, loves comes like night winds, soothing our weary mind and aching heart.
Read more

Maeocong, Chieftain of the Jae-o No More

Image
There was a time when the early settlers by the Jal-o regarded the river with a sense of foreboding. While it served as the main thoroughfare, their public baths and laundry pond, the river held many mysteries kept hidden among its lush mangroves and adjoining swamps and tributaries. Rumors and reports of actual sightings of monstrous amphibians wading its waters had been told in every household. The authorities had warned the villagers to stay out of the water especially at nighttime. Of those crocodiles, Maeocong was regarded as the dominant bull--the king of the Jae-o. He was long as a boroto (local banca) and heavier than an adult carabao. It was said that he was more deadly if paired with his favorite mate, Pingan Nonay . Together, they wreck terror along the Anao and Bag-ot swamps. For a time, the settlers tolerated their fear. They lived their lives by the Jal-o with that ominous awareness that they were not the masters of the river. But such fears had hounded them even in th
Read more