ILOILO City – Despite a stray bullet incident that wounded one person on New Year’s Eve, New Year celebrations in Western Visayas were generally peaceful and safe with no major incidents recorded, according to the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6).
As of Sunday morning, one was wounded due to stray bullet and one was arrested for illegal discharge of firearm, PRO-6 data showed.
Data from the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6’s Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU), meanwhile, showed that from Dec. 21, 2022 to Jan. 1, 2023 (as of 5:59 a.m.), 55 firework-related injuries were recorded in the region.
Police Brigadier General Leo Francisco, PRO-6 director, said the stray bullet incident was in Zone 2, Barangay Rizal, La Paz, Iloilo City.
The 20-year-old Kate Nichole Cambronero sustained a wound on her left knee and she was confined at the West Visayas State University Medical Center.
Francisco said the suspect was Cambronero’s neighbor, 44-year-old Nilo Magcanam who was taken to the La Paz police station,
For the campaign against illegal selling of pyrotechnics, two persons were arrested in two police operations which resulted to the confiscation of P119,722 worth of pyrotechnics.
“This year’s New Year celebration was peaceful and generally safe. We will continue our commitment to service the people of Western Visayas. We implemented a contingency plan during the holiday season that’s why we had a peaceful celebration,” said Francisco.
He also said that all cops deployed this holiday season will also be deployed to the Ati-atihan Festival in Kalibo, Aklan and Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City this month./PN
