The service firearms of 35 officers of the Manila Police District (MPD) were sealed Wednesday morning as a deterrent against the indiscriminate firing of their weapons during the holiday season.
MPD spokesman Chief Inspector Erwin Margarejo, however, said the order from Philippine National Police chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome did not mean lawmen would stand by and allow crimes to prevail during the holidays.
“We did this to prevent the indiscriminate firing of our officers’ guns, but they can still use these should emergency situations arise when the use of firearms is necessary,” he told Inquirer.net in an interview.
Margarejo said the Wednesday batch was only the first group of officers whose firearms were muzzled ahead of the holidays, and that MPD station commanders have also been directed to do the same to their men’s guns.
“This first batch will be on a break during the New Year. They are not allowed to use their firearms when they are not on duty unless faced with a situation where the use of guns is necessary. We do not want the criminals to think that they can take advantage of the holidays,” he added.
Sanctions await policemen who will not be able to justify the use of their firearms when not on duty, he warned.
The MPD has been preparing its security measures for the holidays with an additional force of 100 policemen assigned to administrative duties in Camp Crame patrolling the streets of Manila along with Manila police officers.
“We are making sure that policemen are visible through patrolling activities,” said Margarejo.
“Just because our firearms have been sealed does not necessarily mean that criminals may take advantage of the holiday season,” he said.