MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday said it has apprehended at least 21 individuals for indiscriminate discharge of firearms during the holiday season, including one of its own personnel, a correctional officer, and a security guard.

Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo, spokesperson for the PNP, said the police officer involved was under the influence of alcohol when he fired a gun in Rizal province, according to reports from local residents.

In addition, a Bureau of Corrections personnel was arrested in the Zamboanga Peninsula region, while a security guard was apprehended in Calabarzon.

The other 18 individuals were civilians, with seven still at large. Five individuals were injured in the incidents, and 17 firearms were confiscated. The incidents occurred between December 16 and December 31.

“’Yong iba naman po ay nagkaroon ng alitan, ‘yong iba ay, again, lasing. Kaya naman sinasabi natin, patuloy natin na ipinapaalala, maaga-maaga pa lamang ay kapag nakainom tayo ay dapat hindi tayo humahawak ng baril lalong-lalo na kung mapapansin nga natin, mga sibilyan itong mga nahuli natin na nagpaputok po,” Fajardo said.

(Some of these incidents were the result of quarrels, while others occurred because the individuals were intoxicated. That’s why we continue to remind the public early on that if we’ve been drinking, we should never handle firearms, especially when, as we can see, most of those arrested were civilians who discharged their guns.)

Meanwhile, of the six cases of stray bullets, three were reported in the National Capital Region, Central Luzon, and Zamboanga Peninsula, with each incident resulting in an injury.

ILLEGAL FIREWORKS

The PNP has apprehended another 73 individuals for the illegal sale, possession, and use of firecrackers, including those selling the products online. A total of 593,094 items were confiscated, amounting to 3.9 million pesos. There were 297 injuries related to firecrackers with one fatality.

Fajardo said holiday celebrations have been generally peaceful, with incidents of crime against persons and property down by 50 percent compared to 2023.

Monitoring and reporting will continue until January 6.’

“Overall naman po, sa ating assessment po, magdamag po tayong nagbantay, wala naman pong pumasok na any significant untoward incident that could somehow disrupt nga po ‘yong pagsalubong natin sa bagong taon bagamat may mga insidente po tayo ng mga pagkasugat. But as a whole po, naging pangkalahatang naman po na mapayapa at maayos po,” Fajardo said.

(Overall, in our assessment, we monitored the situation throughout the night, and no significant untoward incidents disrupted our welcoming of the New Year. While there were some injuries, the situation as a whole remained peaceful and orderly.)