The Philippine National Police Eastern Visayas regional office in Palo, Leyte. (PNA file photo)
TACLOBAN CITY – The whole of Eastern Visayas welcomed the New Year with no recorded case of stray bullets, indiscriminate firing and casualty during the revelries from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported on Tuesday.
PNP Eastern Visayas Regional Director, Brig. Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, said the achievement can be attributed to the intensified and strengthened security measures.
As part of security measures, some 2,500 policemen have been assigned to places of convergence to ensure peace and order and security during the holiday celebrations.
“We activated our security plan to ensure the public’s safety in welcoming the New Year. In addition, we have been remindful to public about firecrackers Indiscriminate firing,” Marbil said in a statement.
As the region was placed under full alert status under the Oplan Ligtas Paskuhan 2022, the police also established police assistance desks and mobilized personnel to conduct foot and mobile patrols.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health regional office recorded six firecracker-related injuries on Jan. 2, higher than the five cases reported in the same period in 2022.
The DOH will continue its monitoring of firecracker-related injuries until Jan. 6.
In Antique province in Western Visayas, eight cases of fireworks-related injuries were reported from Dec. 26, 2022 to Jan. 3, 2023.
Antique Integrated Provincial Health Office information officer Irene Dulduco said in an interview Tuesday the injuries were from the capital town San Jose de Buenavista with four, and one each from the municipalities of Anini-y, Belison, Hamtic and Tobias Fornier. All victims are male.
“Our first case was of a blast burn with amputation from San Jose de Buenavista on Dec. 26,” Dulduco said.
She said the 26-year-old is still confined at the Angel Salazar Memorial General Hospital in San Jose de Buenavista after his two fingers were amputated.
Six of the victims were outpatients while the other one left the hospital unnoticed after receiving treatment.
“The fireworks related injuries this year had increased as compared with that of last year where there were only five cases,” Dulduco said, adding that there were only four cases in 2021.
The injuries this year were caused by the firecrackers such as "kamara", skyrocket, and triangle.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Puno of the Antique Provincial Police Office said "there was no indiscriminate firing or stray bullet incident reported."
The police will continue to be on alert status and monitor the situation related to the holiday season until Jan. 6. (With reports from Annabel Petinglay/PNA)
(PNA)
