New Year's celebration generally peaceful — PNP

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police said that this year’s New Year's celebration was generally “peaceful.”  

There were no major untoward incidents that took place based on the PNP’s monitoring of the peace and order situation on December 31 and the morning of January 1, said PNP spokesperson Police Col. Jean Fajardo in an interview with GMA’s Unang Balita on Monday.

However, two new incidents of illegal discharge of firearms took place the day before New Year, Fajardo said, bringing the total number of incidents to 11 as of Monday morning.

These incidents took place during the afternoon of December 31. 

“One of the incidents in Zamboanga involved one police personnel who used his firearm behind their barracks. He appeared to be under the influence of liquor,” Fajardo said in Filipino.

The cop will face criminal charges and undergo an administrative probe, which may lead to his dismissal from service, Fajardo said.

Fajardo added that the PNP will continue to be on heightened alert until next week to ensure peace and order especially as terminals become busier with passengers returning from the holidays.

The PNP said on December 30 that it has arrested 12 people nationwide for selling banned firecrackers, while more than 28,000 banned firecrackers worth P244,130 were confiscated over the holidays.

The Department of Health on December 30 recorded a total of 107 injuries due to firecrackers or pyrotechnic devices, with the highest number of injuries from the National Capital Region.