(Manila, Comprehensive Report) The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) statistics show that there were a total of 655 firework-related injury incidents during this holiday season, with the majority of victims being minors.
The DOH surveillance data covers the period from December 21, 2025, to January 3, 2026, representing a decrease of about 20% compared to the same period last year. Most injuries were caused by unidentified fireworks, followed by "kwitis" (mini skyrocket) and "five-star fireworks". At least 351 victims were minors aged 16 or below.
There were also 19 victims, including 11 minors, who needed amputation of hands or fingers due to their injuries. The Department of Health advises firework injury patients to get a tetanus vaccination as soon as possible to prevent wound infection and the onset of tetanus, which has an incubation period of 3 to 21 days.
During the same period, there were a total of 1,113 road traffic injury incidents, up about 82% year-on-year, with 508 victims being young people aged 15 to 29. Of the seven fatal accidents, four victims were aged 16 to 26. At least 86% of the victims were not wearing protective helmets or seat belts.
In addition, the Department of Health also recorded 349 cases of non-communicable diseases, an increase of 9% compared to the previous year. Among them, 205 cases were acute stroke, 95 cases were acute coronary syndrome, and 49 cases were bronchial asthma.