New Year Revelry in Zamboanga Peninsula ‘Generally Peaceful’

PAGADIAN CITY (Jan. 1, 2019) - The Police Regional Office 9 gladly announced that the New Year Celebration of 2018 in the entire Zamboanga Peninsula was generally peaceful as it recorded zero cases for stray bullet, indiscriminate firing and firecracker-related incidents during the New Year celebration in the region.    

Except for a few cases of reported incidents, such as shooting incident in Isabela City and Kumalarang, Zamboanga Del Sur Pagadian City and hacking incident in Zamboanga City and Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay, this year’s New Year revelry in the entire region has been “generally peaceful” as the Police Regional Office (PRO) 9 recorded “negative” incidents of stray bullet, indiscriminate firing, and fire or burning incident due to firecrackers. There were no reported major injuries in relation to use of firecrackers.

PCSUPT Emmanuel Luis D Licup, PRO9 Regional Director, attributed the achievement to the intensified implementation of security and public safety campaign launched by the PRO9 through its Ligtas Paskuhan 2018, a plan designed to minimize crimes and incidents during the Yuletide season.

He also attributed such achievement to the step up implementation of firecracker ban-sale and use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic products in the whole region, wherein a total of 14 Illegal Possession/use/sale of firecrackers incidents were registered with more than 1, 000 pieces of firecrackers such as five star, Judas belts, rockets (kwitis), piccolo, sticks of seven colors and among others amounting to Php 28, 990 were confiscated by the police in the region.

The PRO9 recorded only two minor incidents due to firecrackers that occurred on December 23 and 24, 2018 while arrested 6 individuals due to arrest due to illegal possession/use/sale of firecrackers. The Zamboanga City Police have also confiscated a total of 48 canons made of PVC canon known as “Boga.”

PCSUPT Licup announced that not one among the 9, 000 policemen under the Police Regional Office 9 were found to have fired his service firearms during the New Year’s revelry.

Earlier, the PNP hierarchy implemented the no taping of gun muzzles of every PNP personnel nationwide.

Meanwhile, the Regional Director acknowledged the support and cooperation of general public throughout the region in the realization of peaceful and injury free New Year celebration. (By JONG D.CADION with PRO9 PIO PR and Photo)