BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The city government of Cadiz in Negros Occidental has prohibited the use of firearms among forest rangers.
Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. of Negros Occidental said this after a stray bullet killed a one-year-old girl in Barangay Caduha-an on Sunday.
“Indi gid pwede (magdala armas), maskin gani aton mga traffic enforcers wala gina-allow, how much more sila,” he added.
The suspect, 48-year-old Nomar Ayan Berto, was a forest ranger assigned at the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), according to the police.
He reportedly had a drinking binge with his co-workers that night.
Escalante also learned that Berto was a close relative of the victim.
The mayor coordinated with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the family’s assistance.
The police, meanwhile, were preparing charges for reckless imprudence resulting to homicide against Berto.
The suspect’s .38-caliber firearm is also yet to be recovered.
Earlier on Monday, the one-year-old girl passed away in a hospital here.
Berto turned himself in to the police on Tuesday morning./PN
