By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
We are a nation that loves Christmas so much and all the traditions wrapped into it. Most of the time, though, our festive spirits can be overblown and marked by too much drink, too much eating, and too many accidents.
So, from here on till New Year’s let me state the statistics: as of Christmas Eve, 25 firecracker-related injuries have been recorded. Twenty-three of those injured are male, and most are below 19 years old — barely past the age of their first Christmas memories.
These are not mere numbers; they are scars, trauma, and shattered celebrations. By laying out these numbers, I hope we make it a part of our Christmas wish that our celebrations would not include a trip to the emergency room.
For the hard-headed folks who mix alcohol with firecrackers, that’s not festive but foolish. Hopefully, we heed the Department of Health’s call to skip the firecrackers, ditch the watusi, and report illegal sellers.
Christmas for evacuees
Speaking of Christmas wishes, there is a special plea that deserves to be heard above the holiday cheer. Over 14,000 evacuees from the Kanlaon Volcano eruption spent Christmas Eve in evacuation centers, while thousands more sought shelter with relatives. They were displaced from their homes and livelihoods. Their fields were coated in ash, their crops were lost, and their lives were upended.
To the wealthiest among us — the Filipinos on the Forbes list and the quietly affluent — this is your moment. Extend not just a hand, but hope. These families need more than sympathy; they need resources to rebuild and recover. With agricultural losses exceeding ₱33 million, your generosity could transform despair into resilience.
Let this holiday season remind us that true wealth lies in lifting others. The ash will eventually clear, but how we respond now will define the kind of nation we are. A little help can go a long way — and this Christmas, it could mean everything.
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SHORT BURSTS. For comments or reactions, email firingline@ymail.com or tweet @Side_View via X app (formerly Twitter). Read current and past issues of this column at http://www.thephilbiznews.com
