Policemen nationwide unseal their guns

muzzle taping pnp

Philippine National Police Logistics Support Service head Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac leads the simultaneous removal of taped firearms muzzles in Camp Crame. Photo courtesy of Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac

MANILA, Philippines—On the second day of January 2015, first thing policemen did was to unseal their service firearms earlier taped to prevent indiscriminate firing during the Christmas and New Year revelry.

In a simultaneous ceremonies nationwide, superiors of all police units in Metro Manila, Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao led the unmasking of the muzzle of service firearms on Friday morning.

On December 22, Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina, the PNP’s newly appointed officer-in-charge, ordered the sealing with masking tape of the guns of the 150,000-strong police force to ensure a “gun-free” holiday celebration.

However, Espina said four policemen were separately arrested for firing their guns in Metro Manila, Davao and in two regions.

“We will proceed against them both administratively and criminally at ito po ay magiging sanhi ng kanilang dismissal from the service,” he said.

The first stray bullet fatality of 2015 was an 11-year-old girl in Bumagcat, Tagum town in Abra province. A 13-year-old boy from Manabo, Abra, was also hurt when a stray bullet hit his right arm.

Meanwhile, amid the New Year merrymaking in Caloocan, 13-year-old Maybelle Lou Juanitas was hit in the head by a stray bullet. Juanitas survived but was still undergoing treatment in a hospital.

Police units all over the country posted on social media their unsealing ceremonies held Friday morning.

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