ILOILO CITY, Dec. 15 -- The City Health Office (CHO) here is urging the public to practice safer alternatives to fireworks, like joining organized or community fireworks displays, to avoid firecracker-related injuries this holiday season.

Jean Dimasuay, Nurse I at the CHO, said that under the "Iwas Paputok" campaign, they continue to advocate for safer alternatives like "torotot" (horn), drums, playing loud music, car honking, and other sound or light-emitting devices instead of firecrackers or pyrotechnic devices.

"We have fireworks-related injury surveillance. Last year, we had 16 cases of firework injuries," Dimasuay said in a press conference on Monday.

Of the 16 cases, eight cases were children 1 to 10 years old, and the rest were...