3 hit by stray bullets in Central Mindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Three were hit by stray bullets while 90 others were injured during the Christmas and New Year’s Day revelries in Central Mindanao, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Thursday.

“It’s very frustrating, so frustrating,” lamented physician Teogenes Baluma, director of the DOH for Region 12, referring to the documented gun and firecracker injury cases.

Baluma said three Central Mindanao residents, one of them a 4-year-old child, were hit by bullets fired by revelers from a distance.

The injured toddler belongs to a poor peasant family in Barangay Tukananes in west of Cotabato City.

Baluma said health workers tasked to document revelry related incidents in Region 12 have listed, as of January 2, a total of 93 cases, including the three gunshot cases.

“The statistics is about 30 percent higher compared to what he had in 2013,” Baluma said.

He said the reports were collated from data supplied by designated monitors assigned in 31 hospitals across Region 12’s adjoining North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat provinces, and in the cities of Tacurong, Gen. Santos, Cotabato, Koronadal and Kidapawan.

“We did our best to educate the public on the dangers of using powerful firecrackers and firearms during Christmas and New Year's Day revelries. We had an extensive information campaign before the holidays started,” he said.