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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider DILG to PNP: Track down and arrest creators of 'fake news' 

DILG to PNP: Track down and arrest creators of 'fake news' 

Published Mar 27, 2020 12:00 am

By Chito Chavez

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Friday directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to track down and arrest those who create fake news, which sow and further compound public fears and confusion in the midst of the country’s current emergency situation.

DILG Secretary Eduardo Año (Philippine Information Agency / MANILA BULLETIN) DILG Secretary Eduardo Año (Philippine Information Agency / MANILA BULLETIN)

An exasperated DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año said that instead of minimizing people’s anxiety, “fake news purveyors endanger public order and cause panic,” even after the police recently arrested four individuals for spreading misinformation during this time of national emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He instructed the PNP’s Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) to relentlessly go after groups behind the spread of fake news.

“Ang pagkakaaresto sa isang suspek sa Laguna at tatlo pa sa Cebu ay babala sa mga fake news peddlers (The arrest of one suspect in Laguna and three others in Cebu serves as a warning to fake news peddlers). We are after you,” said Año.

“The country and, in fact, the whole world is in a delicate time amid the Covid-19 crisis. Information is power. So false information is dangerous. Citizens can do their role in this crisis by staying home, and using social media and the internet with discernment and discipline,” he added.

Año emphasized, however, that the PNP must ensure investigation and arrest of the suspects are “within the metes and bounds of the law.”

He assured the public that the DILG and the PNP will protect human rights and freedom of expression, but reminded them not to spread false information that will “cause panic and fan the flames of anxiety and fear.”

CRIMINAL CHARGE

DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan E. Malaya said the four arrested suspects are now facing criminal charges “for committing Unlawful Use of Means of Publication and Unlawful Utterances punishable under Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code as amended in relation to Sec 4 (c) (4) on online libel and Section 6 of Republic Act No. 10175 known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.”

The PNP-ACG identified the first suspect as Maria Diane “Maddie” Serrano, a resident of Brgy. Banaynay in Cabuyao City, Laguna.

Serrano was charged for causing panic in the area after spreading false information about a patient positive for COVID-19 who was admitted and died at the Global Medical Center Inc. of Cabuyao.

Meanwhile, the Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit 7 in Central Visayas, after conducting fact-checking, found that three residents of Lapu-Lapu City were behind the spread of unverified information regarding the COVID-19 outbreak in their area.

Lapu-Lapu City PNP and the city government filed a case on Thursday against the suspects, namely Fritz John Menguito, Sherlyn Solis, and Mae Ann Pino, before the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutors’ Office.

“Fake news has taken on pandemic proportions so we ask the public to be circumspect, responsible, and not to share fake news,” Malaya concluded.

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