Davao Region, or Southern Mindanao (outlined in red). (Image from Google Maps)
TAGUM CITY – Police in Southern Mindanao, also known as the Davao Region, will send arresting teams inside houses of those who reported to have fired guns on New Year’s Eve.
Chief Insp. Andrea dela Cerna, the spokesperson of the Southern Mindanao Police Office, made the statement with a stern warning that those who would fire guns during the revelry would face charges.
In areas where firecrackers are banned, “rapid arresting teams” will also go after those violating the law.
Dela Cerna reminded the public that in other areas setting off of pyrotechnics would only be allowed in designated public areas.
Tagum, for example, will have a fireworks display in front of city hall.
Except for Davao City, firecrackers had not been banned in other areas, such as Compostela Valley or Davao Occidental.
However, their sale was strictly regulated.
In Davao City, where a firecracker ban had been in place for more than 15 years now, Mayor Sara Duterte Carpio has threatened to haul off straight to jail those who will be caught using fireworks.
She said even those who get injured while setting off firecrackers would not be spared jail time.
“If you want your house to burn down, you can set off firecrackers,” the mayor said. “But do not complain on how our firefighters would respond to put out the fire on your house. If you will be injured while lighting a firecracker, you’ll just get an anti-tetanus shot and you would be hauled off straight to jail. There will be no more admission to a hospital.”
According to Dela Cerna, all over the region, 3,258 police officers and force multipliers had been deployed to ensure that the New Year’s revelry would be injury-free.