A 10-year-old boy suffered a near-severed hand after a firecracker he picked up on 1 January 2025 in Muntinlupa exploded.

Reports indicate that the boy’s left hand was injured by the firecracker, which is banned under City Ordinance 14-092.

The boy, a resident of Barangay Poblacion, Muntinlupa, was severely injured when he picked up a Pla-pla, a banned firecracker and was confined at the Ospital ng Muntinlupa (Osmun) past 3 a.m. on 1 January.

According to a report from the Muntinlupa City Health Office Surveillance Team as of 6 a.m. on 1 January, 17 people were injured by firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices in Muntinlupa, up from the original tally of seven.

Of the 17, nine were injured during the fiesta celebration in Barangay Bayanan.

Muntinlupa City Mayor Rufino Biazon said in a Facebook post that the life of the 10-year-old boy was changed forever because of the accident.

He said the new year should be welcomed with hope for a better life in the coming year, however, the kid’s life has changed permanently due to an unexpected and undesirable event just because of firecrackers.

The Muntinlupa City government and the Muntinlupa Police campaigned to remind people that the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices is banned under Ordinance No. 14-092, passed in 2014.

The ordinance prohibits “the manufacture, display, sale, distribution, possession or use of firecrackers or pyrotechnic devices and such other similar devices and the exploding of firecrackers or other similar explosives within the territorial jurisdiction of Muntinlupa City.”

The mayor said what happened to the boy was an example of why the ordinance was passed, in addition to a local law that prohibits the use of modified mufflers.