EDITORIAL - No ningas-cogon campaign

In Ilocos Sur, the police chief of Narvacan was sacked after photos and video footage emerged of a group of men firing guns and showing off bullet casings during the New Year revelry. Police also raided the houses of two of the men shown with M-16 and M-14 rifles and a caliber .45 pistol although no guns were found. The revelers face charges of alarm and scandal.

This developed as a 13-year-old girl in Caloocan who was hit by a stray bullet on New Year’s Eve was discharged yesterday from a hospital. The girl is expected to recover after the bullet was extracted from her skull.

A younger girl in Abra, however, did not survive another stray bullet. Her bereaved relatives are hoping they will not be denied justice like the parents of Stephanie Nicole Ella, the seven-year-old who was killed by a stray bullet during the revelry a year ago also in Caloocan.

This year several persons around the country including police and military personnel were arrested for indiscriminately firing their guns. The arrests did not end on New Year’s Day; follow-ups led to the arrest of a Compostela Valley policeman.

As in the past, the stories will quickly recede from the headlines. Authorities, however, should not lose interest in pursuing charges against those who were apprehended. Neither should there be any slackening in the pursuit of those responsible for the death of the girl in Abra and serious wounding of the teenage girl in Caloocan.

As in other crimes, the failure to apprehend and punish perpetrators is the best guarantee of a repeat of the felony. The impunity is evident in the wild grins on the faces of the men who proudly showed off their guns and ammunition, allowing their revelry to be caught on camera and video.

Authorities have an entire year to prepare for the next holiday revelry. They should not turn the campaign against indiscriminate firing of guns into another ningas cogon or flash in the pan. The best deterrent to celebratory gunfire is showing everyone that it’s a crime that can maim and kill, and will not go unpunished.