The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Monday reiterated its directive to the members of the 120,000-strong military force not to resort to indiscriminate firing of their firearms or use firecrackers to welcome the New Year.
Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, chief of the military's public affairs office, said soldiers who are found to have indiscriminately used their firearms will be charged under the military justice system and face possible dishonorable separation from the service.
The Philippine military has been carrying out offensives, mostly in the restive southern Mindanao region, against the 12,000-member Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country's largest Muslim rebel group, the 6,000-member leftist New People's Army and the 370-member violent rebel group Abu Sayyaf.
Torres said military commanders in the field have been given specific instructions to remind their men against engaging in such prohibited activities. He suggested that the soldiers should instead use sparklers to welcome the New Year.
"They are prohibited," said Torres on the soldiers' indiscriminate firing and use of firecrackers. "Our commanders were given instruction to remind their troops not to use firecrackers inside camps," the official said.
Torres said that in some camps, military commanders have sealed the muzzle of the guns of their men to ensure that soldiers will not fire their weapons during the New Year revelry.
"In some camps, the muzzles of the firearms were sealed as an additional check to ensure the soldiers will not fire their guns," he said.
Source:Xinhua
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