MANILA, 2 January 2004 — At least 39 people were killed and more than 600 were injured in fires, accidents and shootings during raucous New Year’s celebrations in the Philippines, officials said yesterday.
Eighteen of the victims died in a huge fire that gutted a block of buildings at the public market in Lucena City, 120 kilometers southeast of Manila, on Wednesday.
One person was still missing in the blaze, which was caused by an accidental explosion of firecrackers being sold at one store.
The Lucena blaze was among at least 20 fires that struck as Filipinos ushered in 2004, officials said.
Hospitals and police recorded at least 21 people killed in revelry related violence in the national capital, including five killed in separate shooting incidents, several others in brawls mostly among drunken revelers.
Of the injured, at least 144 persons were treated for blast injuries in the Visayas. Three others were victims of stray bullets in key cities, despite the massive information drive against the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials and the firing of firearms to greet the New Year.
The most victims were recorded in Negros Occidental, where 76 persons were injured in pyrotechnic and firecracker blasts, followed by the cities of Cebu (42), Iloilo (9), Tagbilaran (7), Dumaguete (5) and Tacloban (5).
Eight of the deaths were recorded in suburban Quezon City.
Joel Bruce, 23, and Allan Abajencia, 26, died while Abajencia’s elder brother Angelito, 32, was seriously injured in a shooting incident at Barangay Pag-asa.
Romulo Arellano, 49, was shot dead during a free-for-all along Kilyawan Street in Novaliches district.
Rodel Banzon was shot dead along Rolex Street, Barangay Commonwealth.
At the Arboretum in Diliman, Crisanto Lucban was found dead with a gunshot wound in the body. He reportedly earlier had an argument with a member of the UP police force.
In Barangay Tatalon, 45-year-old Aguinaldo Hernandez was found with multiple stab wounds near his house on Kaliraya Street, while Vilma de Jesus was reportedly stabbed to death by her jealous live-in partner, Alfredo Papa, inside their rented room on Manunggal Street.
In Manila, among the fatalities was police officer Nelson Gonzales, 34, who was stabbed dead by men whom he accused of stealing his scooter.
Teodora Ronquillo, 62, of E. Rodriguez Street, Pasay City, never got to enjoy her birthday, which also fell on New Year, after she was pushed out of a jeepney along Taft Avenue during a suspected robbery.
Two hours earlier, houseboy Pio Picandal, 25, killed his 69-year-old employer Benjamin Zape in Tondo, Manila.
Truck helper Modesto Bagay, 29, became unruly inside his house in Binondo and was shot dead inside his house by barangay tanods who had come to pacify him.
In Tondo, Jeffrey Alfaro, 36, was hacked in the head in front of his house, while Rodolfo Ricate, 16, was stabbed dead by three young men.
Yesterday morning, Larry Briones, 32, was stabbed dead by neighbor Ferdinand Constantino, 30, along Natividad Street in Sta. Cruz Manila.
In northern part of Metro Manila, six other men fell were killed in a spate of violence that accompanied the New Year.
According to the Health Department, 566 people suffered firecracker-related injuries throughout the country, while 15 were hit by stray bullets as some Filipinos fired their guns in the air.
Nine youngsters were also poisoned after accidentally ingesting a small firecracker popular among children.
Firecrackers and celebratory gunfire have injured 590 people in the Philippines since Dec. 21, compared to 531 in the same period last year, said Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit.
Dayrit said the only way to stop the bloody revelry was to ban fireworks. “If we can’t totally ban fireworks, we can’t bring down the injuries from (the current) level,” he told reporters.
“More Filipinos used firecrackers to welcome the New Year because the prices were cheaper compared to previous years,” he told a news conference.
Major celebrations in the Philippines are often bloody due to the widespread use of powerful firecrackers and guns that have hurt hundreds, set houses ablaze, engulfed cities in smog and forced airports to close. (Additional input from Agencies)
