CHIEF Superintendent Renato Gumban, acting regional director of Police Regional Office (PRO) in Negros Island Region, has reminded policemen to be responsible in the use of their service firearms.
This came after Director General Ronald de la Rosa, chief of Philippine National Police (PNP), issued the order to do away with the annual holiday tradition of putting a tape on the policemen’s pistols.
Gumban told SunStar Bacolod Wednesday that there is no need for muzzle taping because they are on full alert for Christmas Day and New Year.
He added that they have enough agents and policemen deployed to ensure a safe and orderly holiday for everyone.
Still, Gumban said they will monitor their personnel to avoid possible indiscriminate firing during the holidays.
Chief Inspector Dianne Grace Catedral, public information officer of PRO-18, said that aside from following the directive from the national headquarters, they need to give the police the trust as the organization is still in war against illegal drugs.
“We have to show to the community that the police is responsible enough in handling their service firearms and will only use them in legal police operations,” she added.
“We need the trust and confidence of the community so we will also give the police the trust to use their service firearms responsibly,” Catedral further said.
"Unrelated" to war on drugs
A police official said Wednesday the order of De la Rosa to deviate from the annual sealing of police gun muzzles during the holiday season has nothing to do with the administration's war against illegal drugs, a police official said Wednesday.
“Ang performance po ng pulis, kapag kakailanganin niya ‘yung lethal weapon, pwede po niyang magamit ‘yung baril. Hindi po konektado ‘yung hindi po natin paglalagay ng masking tape doon sa ating mga baril doon sa campaign natin against drugs,” PNP Spokesperson Senior Superintendent Dionardo Carlos said.
Carlos issued the statement after De la Rosa’s order on non-taping of police gun muzzle gained several negative comments.
He reiterated that the PNP is not tolerating the killings related to the illegal drug operations of the PNP, but maintained that they have to continue their efforts related to the campaign.
On Monday, the PNP said they will no longer put a tape on the muzzle of police’s firearms, an annual tradition of the police agency since the 1990s.
The purpose of the tradition is to avoid them from using the government-issued guns indiscriminately during Christmas and New Year revelries.
Carlos then urged the public to immediately report to the PNP if ever they will witness incidents of indiscriminate firing either by civilians or policemen.
According to the Department of Health’s National Epidemiology Center data dating back from 2012, most victims of stray bullets brought by indiscriminate firing were children.
The number of stray bullet victims from 2010 is on a decreasing trend: from 44 cases in 2010, it went down to 13 cases in 2015. (With Sunnex)