Stray bullet incidents reach 51

MANILA, Philippines - Nine more stray bullet incidents were reported in the last 42 hours.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) Ligtas Paskuhan 2015 recorded 51 stray bullet incidents, with 41 injured victims as of 8 a.m. yesterday, or nine more than the 35 reported injured by noon of Jan. 1.

The monitoring also showed that nine persons, including a police officer and a security guard, were arrested for illegal discharge of firearms and 186 incidents of illegal possession, use and sale of firecrackers.

The PNP has yet to record a fatality from a stray bullet during the holidays.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Wilben Mayor said police units will continue the monitoring until after the holidays as many Filipinos, who spent Christmas Day and New Year’s Day in the provinces, are coming back to Metro Manila.

Mayor attributed the significant decrease in injuries of firecrackers and stray bullets to the vigorous campaign of the authorities.

“The PNP encouraged the public to post or upload videos and pictures in the social media of persons who used firearms in celebration of New Year or report to the nearest police station for immediate investigation and action,” Mayor said.

The PNP launched a massive public information and awareness drive in support of the Department of Health (DOH) campaign against firecrackers, which complemented aggressive law enforcement operations.

The PNP has started investigating photos and videos of people supposedly firing their firearms during New Year’s Eve.

“Investigators will have to identify the persons as well as the places where the supposed indiscriminate firing occured in order for us to prepare a solid case,” Mayor said.

Mayor said the photos and videos uploaded on social media would be a good lead in the investigation.

President Aquino extended his personal congratulations to PNP chief Director General Ricardo Marquez for the effective law enforcement campaign that resulted in the “all-time low” casualty record during the New Year.

Aquino said the incidents are 57 percent lower than the five-year average, and 53 percent lower than the recorded cases in 2015.

DOH hospitals performed only nine amputations and noted zero cases of firecracker ingestion.

The PNP also reported the confiscation of P1,333,944 worth of prohibited firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices.