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Bulacan minors still work in firecracker factories - report


It's that time of year again. As the Christmas season draws closer, minors - some of them children as young as seven years old - are again being "recruited" to work in firecracker factories. Radio dzBB reported Tuesday that mothers of some of the children confirmed that small-time fireworks makers are setting up clandestine factories in Marilao town. It said the children are being lured to the factories to "wrap" or pack the fireworks so the items can be sold in time for the Christmas and New Year. Worse, the report said, the parents allow their children to work despite the risk of being severely injured or killed if the fireworks explode. Only last August, a powerful explosion caused by chemicals used to make firecrackers startled many residents and shattered windows of nearby houses in Bocaue town in Bulacan. The explosion, which created a deep crater at "ground zero," took place near the firecracker factory of Eduardo Losanta, who blamed the sudden rains the day before for the explosion. On the other hand, in December 2006, firecrackers triggered a fire and destroyed a fourth of the public market in Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija province. Many stalls, mostly those selling firecrackers and barbecue, were destroyed in the fire. - GMANews.TV

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