BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
For the third year, the Police Regional Office 6 will again skip the sealing of the muzzles of service firearms of police officers assigned in Western Visayas, for this holiday season.
This was confirmed yesterday by regional police spokesperson, Lt. Col. Joem Malong, who said that the skipping of the taping of gun muzzles started even during the stint of General Alan Purisima as PNP chief.
But the PRO 6 warned that police personnel will face appropriate charges and may even be dismissed from the service if they illegally discharge their service firearms during the yuletide season celebration.
The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office has not recorded any single incident of indiscriminate firing involving policemen in the last five years.
PNP chief, Gen. Debold Sinas, said Monday that the taping of gun muzzles has been shown to be ineffective, adding that trigger-happy policemen would still fire, if they want to.
Sinas, however, said that most of police officers are well-disciplined now. But DILG chief Eduardo Año said he would leave the decision to the police leadership. The PNP adopted in 2014 and 2015 the sealing of gun muzzles to make sure that police personnel will not fire their guns during the New Year revelries.*
