27 indiscriminate firing cases logged during New Year festivities

The Philippine National Police (PNP) logged 27 cases of indiscriminate discharge of firearms nationwide during the celebration of New Year’s Day.

In a phone interview on Wednesday, PNP spokesperson PBGen Jean Fajardo said these cases resulted in five injuries, while 21 persons were apprehended and 17 firearms confiscated.

Of the 21 arrested, 18 were civilians, while the rest included a security guard, a police officer from Calabarzon, and an officer of the Bureau of Corrections in Zamboanga Peninsula.

The arrested individuals were from Calabarzon (9 cases), followed by the National Capital Region and Western Visayas (3 cases each); Northern Mindanao (2 cases); and one each in Central Luzon, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula.

Fajardo said four people were injured due to stray bullets in the National Capital Region, with one each in Central Luzon and Zamboanga Peninsula.

She noted that all stray bullet victims were now “out of danger.”

“Those three persons injured due to stray bullets were brought to a hospital and were treated. So, they are now out of danger as reported to us,” she noted.

The slugs recovered from the areas and victims will be submitted to the forensic group's field units for cross-matching, Fajardo added.

She said these 27 cases of indiscriminate firing are higher than the 20 recorded last year. However, the number of injuries was down to five from seven last year.

Meanwhile, Fajardo noted that the welcoming of the year 2025 was generally peaceful.

“We did not receive any report of any significant untoward incident,” she said.

However, authorities recorded 1,360 cases of illegal possession of firearms, while 73 individuals were arrested for the use and sale of illegal firecrackers.

A total of 593,094 pieces of illegal firecrackers with an estimated value of P3.9 million were also seized. Authorities recorded 297 firecracker-related injuries and one death due to firecrackers.

Fajardo said a 77-year-old man from Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija, died on 22 December due to firecrackers.