By Priam Nepomuceno/PNA
MANILA — With the New Year’s Eve revelry about to go full blast in two days, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has assured the public that no soldier will be firing his weapon to celebrate.
“We have existing regulations and laws prohibiting the discharge of firearms in public. It applies to everybody, and we are confident our soldiers will abide by this existing laws and regulations,” Col. Noel Detoyato, AFP public affairs chief, said in a message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Friday.
He added that should some personnel get carried away by the celebrations, the AFP has more than enough rules and regulations to sanction them.
New Year’s Eve celebrations in the Philippines are traditionally accompanied by feasting, singing, lighting of firecrackers, and occasional firing of firearms by some individuals – which in most cases, resulted in injuries or even death to innocent people, including children.
According to the National Capital Region Police Office, the most recent case of indiscriminate firing in Metro Manila involved a police officer assigned at the Navotas City Police Station.
