Cavite proves New Year can be greeted without stray bullet victims

TRECE MARTIRES CITY, Cavite — The nation may have something to learn from Cavite when it comes to greeting the New Year without a stray bullet casualty.

In 2016, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) and Police Provincial Office (PPO) reported not a single case of indiscriminate firing in Cavite’s seven districts and one of the most populated provinces in the country.

The 2016 revelry zero-stray bullet casualty report in Cavite was the first in a decade.

The PPO and PHO attributed this feat to the united stand of concerned agencies, local officials, residents, the media, and other stakeholders against indiscriminate firing. Officials also acknowledged the power of social media in dissuading gunowners from being trigger-happy.

“The joint efforts (the drive against indiscriminate firing) made it. The move was supported by the provincial and local officials, residents, the media, and the religious sectors, including the INC (Iglesia Ni Cristo) which issued a circular about it, The police and military also stood guards in the duration,” a veteran police officer told The Manila Bulletin.

Cavite is the virtual “land of the brave,” being the center of the revolution under General Emilio Aguinaldo against the Spaniards at the turn of the 20th Century.

The so-called “gun culture” thrives in this historical province with the off-and-on crime shooting incidents, as well as the indiscriminate firing and stray bullet incidents, year-round.

The Provincial Health Office and PPO is joined by other concerned agencies in monitoring firecracker and stray bullet-related incidents under the “Oplan Iwas-Paputok” and “Apir” (a slang for “Appear” or “High Five) program.