MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to make life hard for people who use their guns during holiday revelries, saying the act should be considered a serious offense.
Duterte said indiscriminate firing during holiday celebrations has caused injuries and even deaths. He noted that some of the victims of stray bullets were children.
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"Ito iyong mga walang hiya na walang utak. Bakit nagkaroon ng baril (They are shameless people who have no brains. How did they acquire guns)?" the president said during a televised public address last Monday.
"I don't know yet what I will do. I will think about it...I will make it (indiscriminate firing) a very serious offense... I’ll go to Congress," he added.
Duterte said he could not accept justifications that the harm inflicted on the victims of indiscriminate firing were not intended.
"B****, if you don't have brains, I am reminding you. Policemen, military men and civilians, licensed or not, holding firearms, do not (do it)...If you get caught...I will make things hard for you," the president said.
"If you fire your gun during the New Year, I will detain you until the following day because the offices are still closed. I will tell the police do not clean the bathroom of the detainee. Do not clean the bathroom during Christmas and New Year because we will detain that son of a b**** there. That's an order. Do not clean. That is reserved for idiots who have no sense of fairness," he added.