Christmas 2018 generally safe and peaceful – PNP
The isolated shooting incidents and indiscriminate firing cases aside, the Philippine National Police on Tuesday night said that this year's Christmas celebration was generally safe and peaceful compared to last year.
In a statement, PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said that from December 16 to 25, 2018, a 70-percent reduction in the cases of indiscriminate firing / illegal discharge of firearms was noted across the country compared to the same period in 2017.
He added that a 75 percent reduction in the number of firecracker-related injuries and 1,000-percent increase in the seizure of illegal firecrackers and pyrotechnics were reported to authorities.
"This year in Metro Manila alone, where crimes usually increase during the holiday season, [police] had seen significant reduction in crime incidents compared to the same period last year," Albayalde said.
According to records shared by National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Director Guillermo Eleazar, a total of 1,470 local ordinance violators were apprehended in the entire Metro Manila from 5 a.m. of December 25, Tuesday, to 5 a.m. of December 26, Wednesday.
"This was largely due to the intensified anti-criminality and public safety campaign launched by the PNP through its 'Ligtas Paskuhan 2018' and the support and cooperation of Filipinos throughout the country," Albayalde stated.
However, he noted some incidents that marred the Christmas celebration this year, including a shooting incident involving a police officer in Metro Manila and a case of indiscriminate firing of a barangay kagawad (village watchman) in Pangasinan.
"The [celebration] has been generally peaceful and there's no major incident except of course for a shooting incident in Caloocan and an indiscriminate firing in Pangasinan," Albayalde said in Filipino in a separate radio interview.