Firing a Gun on New Year's Eve: What Is the Penalty?

Article 254, as amended by Republic Act No. 11926, reads in part:

In simple words:

• "Wilfully", in ordinary English, means on purpose.
• "Indiscriminately" is not defined in the article. In ordinary English it means without choosing a target, as when someone fires into the air to celebrate.
• "Any firearm or other device" includes things not made as guns but that can work like one.
• The paragraph does not say the firing must happen in a town or public place.

Arresto mayor runs from 1 month and 1 day to 6 months. Its maximum period, under the duration table of the Code (Article 76), is 4 months and 1 day to 6 months. That is the range for an ordinary person under Article 254(b), unless the facts amount to a crime with a higher penalty.

Yes. Article 254 adds:

So an officer who fires into the air at a New Year's party faces a heavier penalty than a civilian, and may also face an administrative case.

It is cancelled, and the ban is for life:

"Summarily" means at once. "Perpetually disqualified" means the person can never be granted a firearm license or permit again.

Before this law, firing a firearm in a town or public place in a way "calculated to cause alarm or danger" was listed in Article 155, alarms and scandals, which is punished only by arresto menor or a fine. Republic Act No. 11926 became law in 2022. It did two things:

• It removed firearms from Article 155. That article now covers rockets, firecrackers and other explosives, with a penalty of arresto menor or a fine of up to ₱40,000.
• It rewrote Article 254 to punish indiscriminate firing on its own, with a heavier penalty, a higher penalty for armed officers, and the loss of the gun license.

Article 254(a) still punishes shooting at another person with a gun: prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods, unless the facts amount to attempted or frustrated parricide, murder or homicide, or another crime with a higher penalty.

Setting off firecrackers or other explosives in a town or public place "calculated to cause alarm or danger" is still alarms and scandals under Article 155(1). Other laws and local ordinances also regulate firecrackers; we do not cover them here. See Alarms and scandals.

Article 254(b) applies "unless the facts of the case can be held to constitute any other offense for which a higher penalty is prescribed". If a bullet injures or kills a person, a heavier crime may be charged instead. Which crime depends on the evidence, and the prosecutor decides.

These are made-up examples to show how the rules work. They are not advice for any real case.

Nonoy fires his licensed pistol into the air at midnight on New Year's Eve in his backyard. This can be wilful and indiscriminate firing under Article 254(b): 4 months and 1 day to 6 months, and his license is cancelled for good.

Ramil, a police officer on leave, fires his service firearm into the air at a family party. He was not performing official duties, so Article 254(c) can apply: the penalty is one degree higher, and he may also face an administrative case.

Benjie throws lit firecrackers into a crowd at the plaza the same night. That is not Article 254, because there is no firearm. It can be alarms and scandals under Article 155(1).

The basic offense under Article 254(b) is punished by arresto mayor (in its maximum period). Under Article 90, crimes punished by arresto mayor prescribe in five years. For the higher penalty of Article 254(c), check with a lawyer. See How many years before a criminal case prescribes?

Talk to a lawyer if you were charged, if your gun license is at stake, if someone was hurt, or if you are an officer facing both a criminal and an administrative case. If you cannot afford a lawyer, see Free legal help in the Philippines for the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) and other options.