‘Silent welcome’ for 2021 in Western Mindanao, police says

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur—People in the Zamboanga Peninsula or western Mindanao region accorded the incoming year 2021 with a “silent welcome,” the police said.

Brigadier General Ronaldo Genaro Ylagan, regional police director, of Police Regional Office 9 (PRO9), said the silence was quite surprising.

“The New Year celebration in the entire Zamboanga Peninsula was generally peaceful as it recorded zero cases for stray bullet, indiscriminate firing and firecracker-related incidents,” Ylagan disclosed.

In the region, only Zamboanga City has an ordinance banning the use of firecrackers and any pyrotechnic display.

Ylagan attributed the peaceful welcome of the New Year to the intensified implementation of security and public safety campaigns of all police units in the region dubbed the Ligtas Paskuhan 2020.

Prior to the revelry, Ylagan said they stepped up the implementation of the law regulating the sale, manufacture, distribution and use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices.

A total of six cases of illegal possession, use or sale of firecrackers were registered in Zamboanga City and Ipil town, Zamboanga Sibugay with some 1, 986 pieces and packs of firecrackers amounting to P522,270 were confiscated by the police.

“Not a single cop of the 8,000 (police personnel) fired their service firearm,” Ylagan added.

CFC