‘Peaceful’ yet bloody

The Philippine National Police on Monday said at least one person was killed while another was wounded after being hit by stray bullets during the New Year's Eve celebrations.

Aside from the fatality from a stray bullet, the PNP reported one death due to firecrackers.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health said at least 116 firecrackers-related injuries occurred during celebrations welcoming the New Year, including five cases of stray bullets.

Due to delays in reporting, Health Secretary Teodoro "Ted" Herbosa said the numbers could be higher.

"This could increase as sometimes there are delays in reporting from our sentinel sites or hospitals," Herbosa said in a press briefing.

The PNP said Monday the New Year revelry was generally peaceful and safe. PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said no significant cases were reported based on the PNP's monitoring as of the morning of 1 January.

However, she said a total of 810 incidents were recorded by the PNP, resulting in injuries to at least 509 people. In all, four deaths were reported, including two in a fire.

Fajardo said a drunk policeman who fired his service firearm behind his barracks in Zamboanga on Sunday was arrested for illegal discharge of firearms.

The new cases recorded by the DoH included the youngest firecracker victim so far, an 11-month-old boy injured by a piccolo, an illegal firecracker, in the National Capital Region.

The infant's face and right eye sustained burns from the firecracker lit by a bystander on the street.

A 76-year-old man in the Ilocos region sustained an injury in his right eye from a sky rocket  that he lit at home.

Over the past 24 hours, the DoH said there were three additional cases of amputation, bringing the total number of amputations over the holiday period  to 11.

From 22 to 31 December, the agency recorded a total of 231 fireworks-related injuries, with almost five out of every 10 cases occurring in the  NCR.

Of the total cases, 95 percent occurred at home and in the streets, mostly involving males.

The fireworks that caused at least seven out of every 10 injuries were sky rockets, the 5-star, boga, piccolo, whistle bomb, pla-pla, luces, fountain, and triangulo.

The PNP said 13 incidents of illegal discharge of firearms resulted in the arrest of 13 people and the confiscation of eight guns.

"As to the assessment, it was generally peaceful nationwide," Fajardo told reporters.  The authorities confiscated 193,320 pieces of illegal firecrackers worth P3,694,794.50.

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