“A lapse in judgment.”
This was the excuse purportedly given by the highest-ranking officer among the 12 Quezon City policemen who were caught on video taking banned firecrackers from a heap confiscated by their colleagues on New Year’s Eve.
More than P1 million worth of illegal fireworks have been seized by Metro Manila policemen since they launched a crackdown against the banned items on Dec. 28.
There were no firecracker injuries in this city. There was a lot of noise—from the shrieks of children aboard a convoy of vehicles going round and round the village, to the wailing of sirens and ambulances, the clanging of metal against metal—as people went around banging pans and ladles and rhythmically honking cars and revving car engines, as the city greeted the New Year.
The infamous piccolo, a type of firecracker banned by the government, remains to be among the leading causes of firecracker-related injuries as the New Year revelry draws nearer, the Department of Health said Monday.
As the nation bade farewell to 2012, more than 100 persons so far had been arrested for selling, transporting and using prohibited firecrackers in separate police operations Monday, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
More than P50,000 worth of illegal firecrackers were destroyed just a few hours before the New Year by authorities at the Southern Police District (SPD) headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
Hours before New Year’s Eve, the Laguna police on Monday destroyed several illegal firecrackers that were confiscated from different manufacturers and individuals in the province.
Murder charges will also be filed against the two relatives of a policeman who allegedly shot and killed a fellow police officer during a crackdown on vendors of illegal firecrackers in Quezon City last month, a police official said.
A day before New Year’s eve celebrations, Philippine National Police chief, Director General Nicanor Bartolome warned the public that users of illegal firecrackers and pyrotechnic products may also face charges if caught.
A policeman was killed while another one was shot in the leg during an operation against an illegal firecrackers stall owned by a fellow policeman in Quezon City Thursday morning.
