Soldiers caught indiscriminately firing weapon during New Year revelry to face demotion, dismissal

A day before the New Year revelry, the Armed Forces of the Philippines reminded its troops not to engage in indiscriminate firing of their firearms.

According to AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, indiscriminate firing “is punishable under the Articles of War and may result to demotion or dismissal from military service.”

“Any military personnel who will be caught discharging a firearm must be reported to the police or to the nearest military commander,” Cabunoc said.

“We must not tolerate anyone to shoot their guns in the air,” he added.

He explained that a bullet's speed of 200 feet per second could penetrate a human skull, while a falling bullet can reach the speed of 300 to 700 feet per second.

Meanwhile, Cabunoc also discourage soldiers from lighting firecrackers to celebrate the New Year.

“The act of setting-off huge and illegal firecrackers and shooting guns in the air pose a great risk for injury and even death to innocent people,” he said.

Cabunoc said the military renewed its warning in support of the government's drive to end the practice of firing guns and lighting illegal firecrackers to celebrate New Year.

As of Tuesday, the Department of Health has recorded 162 firecracker-related injuries, although it has yet to receive reports on victims of stray bullets. —Rouchelle Dinglasan/KBK, GMA News