BOCAUE, Bulacan—From famous personalities, colloquial names of some firecracker products made a present switch to names of programs on TV.
There are no more “Goodbye Gloria” fireworks, a huge five star that are prohibited and secretly and illegally sold. This item was being sneaked in last year in time for the last term of former President Gloria Arroyo from Malacanang.
The “Goodbye Gloria” was patterned to “Goodbye Philippines” and “Bin Laden” firecracker products made as fun names for huge bang crackers following the World Trade Bombing incident in the United States 2001.
“Trillanes” another huge and illegally sold firecracker item surfaced in 2007 and was named after Senator Antonio Trillanes, after the infamous Oakwood mutiny where he led a group of soldiers in seizing the said Makati hotel using combat explosive vehicles.
These items are bring explicitly sold to buyers who would whisper their demand for such products.
Celso Enriquez, owner of Unistar fireworks here said during previous interviews that he only have heard of those items but are not selling them because those are illegal and can be considered already as destructive.
Enriquez said, as far as he knew, those items can already destroy window glass when cracked at a near distance.
In 2007, a resident of Quezon City who went home to his native place in Barangay Maysantol in Bulakan town secretly brought pieces of Trillanes and cracked them in their backyard. At a five meters distance, the impact of the explosion left a tremor effect and some glass windows of a nearby house to be destroyed and shattered.
This year, only a handful of these very strong impact fireworks can be sneaked in and bought.
What are openly being sold are the legal products aerial and medium bang fireworks named after television programs “It’s Show Time,” and “Pinoy Big Brother”.
Mark Eleogo, a part time newly hired additional store attendant at a fireworks store here said the “Its Show
Time” is a 16-shot or sixteen times to crack aerial pyrotechnic (pailaw) type of fireworks while the “Pinoy Big brother” is a large kweaton or kuwitis type firework imported from Europe.
Eleogo said manufacturers named the large kweaton as “Pinoy Big Brother” because it is where the show originated.
“Bukod dun, kasi malaki, parang si kuya, malaki, kaya iyon daw ang itinawag ng mga gumagawa ng paputok sa kalse na ito,” he said.
“It’s Show Time” costs P650.00 and the “Pinoy Big Brother” costs P350.00.
Bayani Sayo, president of Bocaue fireworks manufacturers and dealers association said it has been a tradition among manufacturers to name their products to famous personalities and events now shows on TV to make the products more saleable and appealing to the buyers.
“Nakasanayan na ng mga gumagawa na ipangalan sa mga sikat na tao, bagay at pangyayari lalo na yung may kinalaman sa mga sumasabog o pumuputok na bagay, ina-associate ang paputok doon kasi para lalong maging mabili,” he said.
Sayo said, manufacturers not only do that to sale the products but also out of fun for the industry.
Enriquez earlier said it is usually the people who are asking for the stronger impact or effect types of fireworks which also trigger the manufacturers to make or come out with such types of products to give satisfaction to the demand of the buyers.
A bigger five star is called pla-pla, the next bigger in size is called “kabase”. Pla-pla is St. peter’s fish (huge tilapia) and kabase is much bigger type of fish. Both these products are prohibited.
Eleogo said they also sell “Bandila” (a flag type of fireworks after the late night news program of Channel 2) and a heart shape firework they named as “Kapuso” named after channel 7.
“It’s Show Time” and “Pinoy Big Brother” are both TV programs of channel 2.