Firecracker vendors snarl traffic near QC subdivision

The last hours of 2010 proved to be an ordeal for motorists passing near a posh subdivision in Quezon City, as firecracker vendors set up shop and snarled traffic in the area. Quezon City police director Chief Superintendent Benjardi Mantele ordered an investigation into the incident after learning the vendors had the proper "permits." "(Pinaalam ko) kung may permit at walang permit na binigyan ng City Hall, yan pinapa-verify ko. Initially ang sabi meron (I had my men check if the vendors had a permit from City Hall. Initially, the feedback was that they had such permits)," Mantele said in an interview on dzBB radio. A separate report by dzBB's Sam Nielsen said that at least 35 vendors refused to leave the area near White Plains Subdivision. Many motorists passing through the area could not maneuver as fireworks buyers parked their cars along the side of the road. The report said the vendors clogged the road leading from White Plains to Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA). On the other hand, the report said the vendors did not have safety equipment, such as drums filled with water and sand, to put out possible fires. However, many of the vendors also claimed they had spent some P5,000 for permits from the local village officials in Barangay Ugong Norte. Also, Quezon City police Station 12 head Superintendent Pedro Sanchez insisted each stall had fire extinguishers and was selling "branded" fireworks. Sanchez said the only problem was that some motorists improperly parked their cars and blocked the road. For their part, village officials downplayed the traffic mess, saying it happens only once a year. The dzBB report quoted a local village official as saying the vendors secured their permits as early as the "first week of December." Meanwhile, in Manila, police destroyed some P100,000 worth of firecrackers they seized from vendors in the past days, dzBB's Carlo Mateo reported. irecracker buyers crowd Bocaue stalls Meanwhile, firecracker buyers crowded stalls in Bocaue town in Bulacan to buy fireworks in time for the New Year revelry. Police and firefighters positioned their fire trucks and ambulances near the stalls as a security precaution. — TJD, GMANews.TV