1st stray bullet death reported; ’cracker injuries hit 47

MANILA, Philippines — One person died due to a stray bullet, while 47 others were injured as a result of firecrackers ahead of the New Year’s Eve revelry, the Philippine National Police reported yesterday.

The PNP said a man identified as Reyan Policarpio was hit by a bullet on Wednesday along Laurel street in Barangay 120 in Tondo, Manila and died at around 12:50 a.m. on Christmas Day.

Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño, spokesman for the PNP, said the incident occurred during a drinking spree in celebration of Christmas Eve.

Tuaño said police have identified the suspect who is now the subject of a manhunt.

From Dec. 16 to 26, 47 people were reported injured by firecrackers, 13 of them from Central Visayas.

The other two regions with the greatest number of firecracker-related injuries are Soccsksargen with seven and Metro Manila with six.

The top three firecrackers blamed for the injuries are the 5-star, piccolo and popup.

With just a few days before New Year’s Eve, Tuaño urged the public to only use firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices in designated firecracker zones for their safety.

Up to 54,223 illegal firecrackers valued at P923,105 have been confiscated nationwide. Twenty-three people were arrested.

In Dagupan City, two people were killed while four others sustained minor injuries in a firecracker explosion incident on Dec. 25 that also gutted a house in Barangay Bacayao Norte.

The Department of Health (DOH) has so far recorded a total of 57 cases of fireworks-related injuries (FWRI). This is 49 percent lower than in the same period last year.

The DOH said data from its 62 sentinel hospitals showed Metro Manila with the most number of cases at 25.

A majority of the FWRI victims are 10- to 14-year-old males, with the top causes of injuries from fireworks such as 5-star, kwitis, boga and triangle.

Central markets

To ensure public safety ahead of the New Year revelry, the PNP is pushing for the establishment of centralized markets for firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices in every city and town in the country.

Acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. yesterday ordered police chiefs to coordinate with local governments on the possible establishment of designated firecracker markets in areas considered safe.

Nartatez said keeping the sale of firecrackers in specific or controlled areas will help authorities better regulate vendors and reduce risks to the public.

Apart from public safety, Nartatez said having centralized selling areas will curb the sale of illegal firecrackers.

Illegal gun discharge

In Negros Occidental, a former member of the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) is in jail after he was arrested on Dec. 24 for alleged illegal discharge of firearms in Purok Rosas in Balingasag, Bago City.

The 43-year-old suspect, a retired enlisted personnel of the PMC, was believed to be under the influence of alcohol, initially debunked claims of his neighbors, who heard gunshots inside his residential compound.

While investigating the incident, responding officers from the Bago City Police Station recovered an Armscor caliber .45 pistol with a magazine containing six bullets, another magazine containing 13 bullets, an empty magazine of the same gun, and 34 fired cartridges from a caliber .45 pistol.

Tuaño said three more police officers were arrested: a master sergeant in Caraga, a senior master sergeant in Western Visayas and a patrolman in Northern Mindanao.

A patrolman assigned with the Maritime Group who indiscriminately fired a 9mm caliber handgun was also arrested.

Tuaño did not disclose the identities of the police officers who were among 10 people apprehended for illegal discharge of firearms during the Christmas season.

They are facing criminal complaints for violation of Republic Act 11926, which penalizes the willful and indiscriminate discharge of firearms. — Gilbert Bayoran, Cesar Ramirez, Rhodina Villanueva, Ramon Efren Lazaro