The Philippine National Police (PNP) announced that it is strictly enforcing a 'one-strike policy' against police officers involved in indiscriminate firing during the New Year celebrations, as part of efforts to prevent stray bullet incidents and ensure public safety.
In an exclusive interview in dzRH's Dos Por Dos, Chief of the PNP Public Information Office (PIO), PBGen. Randulf Tuaño said the directive applies to any police personnel who fires a firearm without lawful justification, regardless of whether the incident results in injury or death.
“Kahapon, nag-warning po ulit ang ating Chief PNP sa member ng PNP kaugnay sa pagpapaputok ng kanilang service firearm,” Tuaño said, citing the renewed reminder issued by Acting PNP Chief PLTGen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr.
Tuaño said the PNP has recorded 11 incidents of indiscriminate firing so far, four of which involved police officers.
He explained that under the one-strike policy, commanders are given 36 hours to resolve cases of indiscriminate firing, whether the suspect is a uniformed personnel or a civilian, particularly if there are stray bullet victims.
“'Yung one strike policy na binanggit po ni PNP chief. Una pong sa strike policy, binabanggit ko lang na binibigyan ng Philippine National Police ng 36 hours… maging ito man ay uniformed personnel o civilian, at magkaroon ng stray bullet victims,” Tuaño said.
The PNP chief has made it clear that any police officer caught firing a gun indiscriminately will face severe consequences.
“Kahapon na warning na pinalabas po ng PNP, sabi niya po, pull the trigger or you lose the badge. Ito po yung para sa member ng Philippine National Police, magpapaputok at ma-report, may victim man ito o wala,” Tuaño said.
The four police officers involved in recent incidents were reported in Surigao, Iloilo, a member of the Maritime Group, and in Misamis Oriental.
“Babanggit natin, kasalukuyan na meron kasi tayong apat na member ng Philippine National Police, sa Surigao, sa Iloilo, sa NCRPO na na-report na member ng Maritime Group at isa sa Misamis Oriental,” he added.
Tuaño confirmed that three of the police officers have been arrested, while the fourth surrendered voluntarily after initially being at large.
“Nakakulong po siya dahil sila po ay arrested. Yung tatlo po, yun sa Surigao, sa Iloilo, at ngayon sa Maritime Group arrested. At yung sa Region 10, ito po ay voluntary surrender. Kasi initially po, at large po,” he said.
All involved officers have been relieved from duty and are facing criminal and administrative charges.
As for casualties, the PNP reported one injured individual and one fatality in the NCRPO area, while the remaining cases had no victims but were still acted upon.
“Yun po ay yung cases po natin na meron po tayong isang injured, yung namatay po sa NCRPO… yung mga indiscriminate firing… may mga walang biktima po sila. Pero na report po sila kaya po sila ay nahuli,” Tuaño said.
He clarified that even incidents without injuries fall under the one-strike policy if a PNP personnel is involved.
In a social media post, PNP Chief Nartatez earlier said he expects the “highest level of discipline” from police officers in handling their firearms and stressed that the agency will not tolerate violations.
Meanwhile, the PNP reported the seizure of 144,866 illegal firecrackers nationwide as part of its New Year safety campaign.
For New Year security operations, the PNP has deployed more than 68,000 police personnel nationwide. This includes over 8,000 officers assigned to transportation hubs, 5,361 to tourist destinations, more than 11,000 to places of worship, and over 98,000 to areas of convergence.
Despite being under a heightened alert status, Tuaño said some personnel were allowed limited breaks, except for commanders and heads of offices.
Tuaño also reminded the public to avoid using illegal firecrackers and reiterated the PNP chief’s warning to police officers: “You pull the trigger, you lose the badge.”
