New Year stray bullets hurt 8 in ARMM

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Eight villagers of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) have been hit and wounded by stray bullets fired by revelers to greet the New Year’s Day, officials said.

Retired Gen. Loreto Rirao, director for ARMM of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said four of the victims are residents of Sulu while the rest are residing in different towns in Lanao del Sur.

“All of them have been treated of the gunshot wounds they sustained,” Rirao said.

Rirao said health authorities in Sulu also recorded three cases of firecracker injuries involving children.

“We have not received any report of fatality so far,” Rirao said.

Rirao said they will continue to monitor for five more days cases of firecracker-related injuries in ARMM’s more than 100 towns located in five provinces – Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, all in mainland Mindanao; the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

The autonomous region also covers the cities of Lamitan in Basilan, and Marawi in Lanao del Sur.