Metro Manila, Philippines – Official data listed more than 1,300 road crash injuries during the holidays, which the Department of Health (DOH) called a “public health problem” that needs to be addressed beyond seasonal travels.
The DOH highlighted the issue as it ended its monitoring of emergency cases during Christmas and the 2026 New Year revelries, even as it noted that firework-related injuries were slightly fewer year-on-year.
From Dec. 21 to the early morning of Monday, Jan. 5, the agency logged 1,384 road crash injuries from 10 sentinel or monitored hospitals. Nearly half of the victims were 15 to 29 years old.
Seven motorcycle riders were killed, including six without helmets. Three other deaths were pedestrians.
The DOH said these injuries were a 100 percent year-on-year increase from 690 cases in 2024 to early 2025.
“Paputok problema pa rin, until may batang napuputukan ng darili public health problem pa rin siya,” Health Secretary Ted Herbosa told a news briefing.
“Pero itong 1,300 cases na road crashes na 100 percent increase, public health problem din ito. Kailangan maayos natin ito,” He said.
[Translation: Firework-related injuries remain a public health problem if there are children who have lost fingers due to explosions. But these 1,300 cases from road crashes, posing a 100 percent increase year-on-year, is a public health problem that we have to address.]
In almost all cases, motorists were without safety accessories such as helmets and seatbelts.
One hundred seventy-one of road crash injuries involved driving under the influence of alcohol.
Herbosa said the DOH will maximize its current budget to improve road safety and lessen road crash injuries.
“Road safety is a multi-agency effort,” he noted.
In its provisional data for 2025, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that traffic accidents were 11th as leading causes of deaths.
UNICEF has also noted that five children die in road crashes in the country every day.
Lower firecracker injuries
The DOH also recorded 720 cases of firework-related injuries from Dec. 21 to Jan. 5.
Kwitis or skyrocket, 5-star, whistle bomb, boga or improvised cannon, and piccolor were the leading causes of injuries.
The tally was lower than the 834 cases last year, or a 14 percent decline.
Meanwhile, there were 235 cases of acute stroke, 124 cases of acute coronary syndrome, and 63 cases of bronchial asthma. The DOH expected emergency cases of these non-communicable diseases to surge during the festivities.
