This was what Lt. Col. Wilfredo Alarcon, deputy director for operations of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LCPO), said following their surprise joint inspection with officials of the Bureau of Fire Protection in Barangay Babag 2 on Friday, Dec. 30, 2022, or a day prior to New Year’s Eve.
Aside from checking for violations, Alarcon and fellow inspectors also inspected documents to determine if the sellers were authorized to sell their products.
Vendors were reminded to prepare original copies of the documents that allow them to sell firecrackers and pyrotechnics until Saturday, Dec. 31.
Alarcon, along with LCPO Police Station 3 Commander Ramil Dugan and Lapu-Lapu Fire District Supt. Tito Purgatorio, also checked if each stall had water and fire extinguishers in case a fire broke out.
Purgatorio said they made sure vendors had no flammable items near their products, stressing that smoking in the vicinity of designated selling areas in the city was strictly prohibited.
Meanwhile, Purgatorio said they did not find any prohibited firecrackers or imported items on display or being sold.
The Civil Security Group of the Police Regional Office 7 has given authorized retailers to sell or display their products until Dec. 31 at their respective stalls along the road in Barangays Canjulao, Babag 1 and Babag 2.