DAGUPAN CITY, Pangasinan: The mayor here has urged residents not to use illegal firecrackers for their protection and instead encouraged them to use the bongbong kawayan or bamboo cannon and other alternative safe means to welcome the New Year.

Mayor Belen Fernandez issued the statement when she visited the bamboo cannon-making contest that Tebeng barangay (village) chairman Helen Fermil had been promoting.