Philippines Records 42% Drop in New Year Firework Injuries, With Young People Still Most Affected

235 injuries recorded as the Philippines welcomes 2026

The Philippines entered 2026 with fewer recorded firework injuries, but children and teenagers continued to account for most of the people hurt. The Department of Health (DOH) counted 235 injuries across 62 sentinel hospitals from December 21, 2025, to 4 a.m. on January 1, 2026, compared with 403 during the same period a year earlier.

The decline of 42 percent amounted to 168 fewer recorded injuries. Health officials attributed the improvement to greater public awareness and stricter enforcement of regulations. The figures remained preliminary as of January 3, with hospitals still reconciling and validating their reports.

Among the 235 patients, 161 were aged 19 or younger, representing 69 percent of the total. Adults accounted for the remaining 31 percent. The youngest person among 19 patients who suffered amputations was a boy aged four who lost four fingers.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) recorded a higher nationwide injury count of 414, using different reporting methods and timelines from the health department. Both agencies nevertheless described a downward trend. Police deployed more than 67,000 officers during the festivities, arrested 29 people for violations and confiscated nearly 100,000 pieces of banned pyrotechnics.

Firecracker fires also declined. The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) recorded 27 such fires in 2025, compared with 39 in 2024, a reduction of about 30 percent. Alongside those improvements, authorities continued to report serious wounds, a stray bullet injury and incidents of indiscriminate firing.

Why the hospital tally is still being checked

The DOH surveillance period covered the holiday season, when firework use rises ahead of New Year's Eve. Its national tally came from 62 sentinel hospitals, the hospitals contributing reports to this monitoring system. The department also logged 62 cases specifically after December 21.

Hospitals across the archipelago were still submitting and checking information. Data reconciliation means comparing records and resolving discrepancies, while validation means checking that the details are accurate. Those steps could change the final injury total as late reports arrived.

DOH spokesperson Albert Francis E. Domingo said late reports were expected to continue arriving until January 5. He expressed hope that the reduction would hold as the figures were updated.

"We hope the lower count will stay," he said.

The main dates in the monitoring and reporting period were:

• December 21, 2025: The national DOH surveillance period began.
• December 31, 2025: Central Visayas had recorded 40 injuries by the morning.
• January 1, 2026: The DOH national tally reached 235 at its 4 a.m. reporting cutoff. Cordillera recorded 11 injuries on New Year's Day.
• January 3, 2026: The national figures remained subject to reconciliation and validation.
• January 5, 2026: Health officials expected late reports to continue arriving until this date as surveillance continued.

Children and teenagers bear most of the harm

People aged 19 and younger accounted for more than two thirds of the DOH total. The 161 injuries in this age group showed that the national decline had not removed the danger facing young people during holiday celebrations.

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa urged parents to maintain strict supervision over their children's activities. The DOH said injuries often occurred when children used fireworks without supervision and asked parents and guardians to keep them away from firecrackers.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has previously identified males aged 15 and younger as the most frequent victims of firework injuries. That pattern, together with the latest Philippine age breakdown, points to a continuing need for safety messages and protective measures that reach children and the adults responsible for them.

Young victims suffered blast injuries and burns, with some losing fingers or hands. A blast injury is damage caused by an explosion. In these cases, the consequences went beyond an immediate wound and included lasting physical harm and emotional trauma.

The boy aged four who lost four fingers was the youngest of 19 patients who sustained amputations during the reporting period. Amputation means the loss or removal of a body part. His injuries illustrated how severe the damage could be for even the youngest children.

Health officials encouraged families to choose safer ways of making noise during celebrations. Keeping children away from firecrackers remained central to that advice, even as the national number of recorded injuries fell.

Regional figures show different local pressures

Central Visayas recorded 40 firework injuries by the morning of December 31, 2025. Cebu Province accounted for 15, followed by Lapu-Lapu City with 11, Bohol with eight, Cebu City with five and Mandaue City with one.

Cebu Province and Lapu-Lapu City together accounted for 26 of the region's 40 cases, or 65 percent. That concentration showed where most of the region's recorded injuries had occurred before the New Year celebration reached its peak.

Cordillera documented 22 injuries, including 11 on New Year's Day alone. All the victims were male. Injuries there were predominantly linked to illegal fireworks, including kwitis and boga.

The Negros Island Region recorded 69 injuries, compared with 131 a year earlier. The reduction of 62 cases represented a decline of approximately 47.3 percent when calculated from those totals; the regional decline was also reported as 52.6 percent. Health officials in Negros credited stronger campaigns against firecracker use for the improvement.

The regional figures reflected local reporting periods, including the December 31 cutoff in Central Visayas and the New Year's Day cases in Cordillera. Their value lay in showing where injuries were occurring and which communities were reporting improvement.

Which fireworks and behaviors caused concern?

Unidentified or unnamed fireworks were the leading cause of injuries in the DOH tally. They were followed by boga, an improvised cannon, and five star firecrackers. Kwitis, whistle bombs and lantaka were also among the frequently recorded causes.

The presence of unidentified fireworks at the top of the list left many injuries without a named device attached to them. The named products nevertheless gave authorities specific targets for warnings and enforcement, particularly the improvised boga and other fireworks repeatedly linked to harm.

The WHO identified several behaviors that increase the risk of injury:

• Allowing children to handle firecrackers.
• Trying to light fireworks again after they fail to explode.
• Throwing fireworks.
• Carrying pyrotechnics in pockets or hands.
• Handling fireworks while under the influence of alcohol.

The advice addressed both who handled fireworks and how they were used. A failed firework, for example, remained a concern when someone tried to light it again. Carrying fireworks in a hand or pocket also placed the device close to the body.

The WHO recommended community displays supervised by authorities instead of personal firecracker use, in line with Executive Order 28. Such displays were the recommended way to preserve a public celebration while keeping individual handling of firecrackers out of households and away from children.

Police deployment and seizures during the celebrations

The PNP monitored incidents on the ground while the DOH gathered hospital reports. Police recorded 414 firework injuries nationwide, compared with the health department's 235 at its January 1 reporting cutoff. Different methods and reporting timelines accounted for the gap between the two agency totals.

Acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. described the celebrations as generally peaceful. He said the deployment of more than 67,000 police officers helped reduce risks during the festivities.

Nartatez described the change in the atmosphere during an interview:

It's much quieter now.

Police arrested 29 people for violations and confiscated nearly 100,000 pieces of banned pyrotechnics. Authorities linked the quieter celebrations to greater compliance with laws against illegal firecrackers and indiscriminate firing, meaning the firing of guns without a lawful target.

The enforcement effort ran alongside health campaigns encouraging people to avoid firecrackers. Together, those measures formed the authorities' explanation for the decline, while medical teams continued to treat the injuries that still occurred.

Stray bullets and firecracker fires remained hazards

One person in Bulacan was injured by a stray bullet, according to the PNP. Police also reported incidents of indiscriminate firing and made several arrests connected with them. The number of those incidents remained relatively low compared with past years.

The BFP recorded 27 fires caused by firecrackers during 2025, down from 39 in 2024. That meant 12 fewer fires, a reduction of approximately 30 percent.

BFP spokesman Supt. Anthony Arroyo credited greater public awareness and the use of alternative ways to celebrate for the decline. His explanation echoed the health department's view that changing behavior had helped reduce holiday harm.

The falling fire count added another measure of improvement beyond injuries treated in hospitals. Firecrackers remained a source of both bodily harm and fires, while gunfire created a separate danger for people caught in the path of stray bullets.

Why even a small wound needs medical attention

Domingo urged anyone injured by fireworks to seek hospital care, regardless of how serious the wound appeared. The DOH's central concern was tetanus, a potentially fatal bacterial infection that can affect muscles and nerves.

Tetanus symptoms may appear days or weeks after an injury. That delay was part of the reason health officials urged people to seek care immediately rather than wait for symptoms to develop.

The DOH advised people to wash wounds with clean, running water and then go promptly to a health center for tetanus shots. The recommendation applied even to injuries that appeared minor.

Health officials continued to promote celebrations without injuries as surveillance approached January 5. The lower preliminary tally was encouraging, but the children with severe wounds, the patients who lost fingers or hands and the people exposed to stray bullets still required attention.

As of January 3, the central picture was a substantial decline in recorded harm alongside a continuing concentration of injuries among young people. The next step was to complete hospital reporting and validation while maintaining medical care, parental supervision and enforcement against dangerous fireworks use.

Key Points

• The DOH recorded 235 firework injuries from December 21, 2025, to 4 a.m. on January 1, 2026, down 42 percent from 403 a year earlier.
• People aged 19 and younger accounted for 161 cases, or 69 percent of the total.
• Nineteen patients suffered amputations, including a boy aged four who lost four fingers.
• Central Visayas recorded 40 injuries by December 31; Cordillera recorded 22, including 11 on New Year's Day.
• Negros Island Region recorded 69 cases against 131 previously. Those totals calculate to a decline of 47.3 percent, while the reported reduction was 52.6 percent.
• Police recorded 414 injuries under different reporting methods and timelines, arrested 29 people and seized nearly 100,000 banned pyrotechnics.
• Firecracker fires fell from 39 in 2024 to 27 in 2025. One person in Bulacan was injured by a stray bullet.
• The DOH urged immediate wound cleaning and medical care, including tetanus shots, with late injury reports expected until January 5.