In Western Visayas, the number of injuries caused by fireworks during the holiday season totaled 154, a significant decrease from the 261 cases reported the previous year, according to the Department of Health Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH WV CHD). The majority of these incidents were recorded in Iloilo province, with the regional police also actively involved in mitigating risks by destroying illegal noisemakers known as boga at their headquarters in Iloilo City.
From December 21 to January 2, sentinel hospitals reported 39 of these injuries through the Online National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. Iloilo province saw the highest number with 14 cases, followed by Iloilo City with 11, Negros Occidental with 6, and Bacolod City with 8. Fortunately, there were no reports of stray bullet injuries, ingestion of fireworks, or fatalities from these sentinel sites.
The remaining 115 cases came from non-sentinel sites, with Negros Occidental reporting the highest at 33 cases, followed by Aklan with 23, Iloilo province with 22, Antique with 11, Capiz with 14, Guimaras with 7, and Bacolod City with 5.
The most frequent injuries were blasts or burns without amputation, totaling 102 cases, and eye injuries, which accounted for 42 cases. The boga was identified as the leading cause of these injuries, with 41 cases linked to it, while kwitis, 5-star, and unlabeled or imported firecrackers each caused 17 injuries.