The number that concerns me
Initially, the DOH was optimistic that there would be fewer New Year related injuries compared to last year. And it looked that way. Then the numbers started coming in on New Year's Day itself, and the days after. At present, there are seven hundred thirty confirmed injuries. Seven hundred fourteen are firecracker-related, four from firecracker ingestion, two of which are very suspicious. As for the remaining twelve? This is the number that concerns me. These are the injuries caused by stray bullets.
An eleven year-old girl was hit and killed by a stray bullet in Abra. Why is it always an innocent child that gets hit? Why not a known criminal, a corrupt politician, or even another indiscriminate person firing a gun? Aren't they all outdoors as well? An investigation is now ongoing to find the person who fired his .45 caliber pistol into the air. But as we all know, this is like finding a needle in a haystack, as most guns are not even registered with law enforcers. A reward has been put up for any information leading to the arrest of the idiot.
And idiots they all are. The only purpose of these idiots firing their guns on New Year is to show off. The explosion from a firecracker is much louder than a bullet fired from a gun, so it cannot be to generate noise. It would really be nice if by some freak accident, the guns point to their heads. That would be one less indiscriminate moron to deal with right?
According to ballistic experts, a bullet fired directly vertical, which does not really realistically happen, would eventually slow down and stop. As it comes back to earth, the bullet now travels much slower than when it left the barrel of a gun. But this does not mean it is less dangerous. It can very well cause injury, even death. But the more dangerous bullets are those fired into the distance. The bullet attains a trajectory whereby it gains even more speed until it hits something. These are the stray bullets that usually kill. So investigators must find a way to calculate the trajectory of the bullet, to determine a specific area where the gun may have been fired. But that's really being too optimistic, especially in our setting.
It is a known fact that some policemen are guilty of firing indiscriminately, especially when already inebriated. Again to show off. This year, four policemen have been charged with indiscriminate firing of their guns. These are the ones we know. How about the ones we don't know? Some security guards have also been charged with discharging their weapons. Obviously, they can no longer be entrusted to carry a weapon, much less be a security guard.
There should be stricter laws with harsher penalties for illegal firecrackers and indiscriminate firing. But according to some observers, these laws only gather dust. Is it because the industry is just too powerful? Is it because most of those who discharge their weapons are either law enforcers themselves, or people with influence and wealth? Someone has to step up and get these new laws passed. Otherwise, we will just have to deal with morbidity and mortality figures every New Year's celebration, no matter whether they are decreasing in number or not. As they say, statistics don't mean anything when you become a victim.
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