DCPO vows to sue Facebook users who spread “fake news” on abduction

The Davao City Police Office vows to file cybercrime cases against Facebook users who spread “fake news.” Photo taken in Bolton St. near the Davao City Hall. MindaNews image by IAN CARL ESPINOSA

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 04 Feb) — The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) vowed to file cybercrime cases against Facebook users who posted unverified kidnapping incidents on the popular social media platform.

This after Facebook page “know my name leng” posted Monday afternoon, February 3, that there is a “manguhaay og bata (kidnapper) in Bolton Street, a three-minute walk from City Hall.”

The page was created only last January 25.

“Naay duha sa bata gabie hapit ma kidnap sa sa taas sa millan gi gunitan ug gi ta oman ang baba sa mga bata may naay nakakita ni tabang sa duha ka bata (sic),” the post reads.

(Two children were almost kidnapped last night. They were held, their mouths covered. Someone saw them and helped the two children.)

The post also urged parents to “check on your children if they are safe going home.”

Captain Hazel Caballero Tuazon, DCPO spokesperson, said they are still determining the administrator or owner of the Facebook page, who will be charged for violating Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

The Cybercrime Prevention Act states that any act of publishing false news or information through the use of information and communications technology (ICT) that could potentially endanger public order or cause damage to individuals or institutions, is considered a criminal offense.

Under the Revised Penal Code, the offender may be punished for arresto mayor or one month and one day to six months imprisonment.

Tuazon said in media group chat that FB page “know my name leng” is spreading “fake news” on the social media platform.

Earlier, Tuazon also belied two viral Facebook posts about alleged attempted kidnapping incidents that happened in Barangay Buhangin last Sunday.

Both posts claimed that a certain person would kidnap women or children.

“Mahulog na siya nga hearsay kay dili man gusto maimbestigahan (They are hearsays because they don’t want to be investigated),” Tuazon said on Sunday.

DCPO police director Col. Hansel Marantan also released a statement on Monday, denying another viral post of a certain Ayka Movilla on Sunday, which stated that a black van carried a woman who cried for help, implying that she was being kidnapped.

Upon police investigation, Marantan said there was no recorded abduction in the barangay.

“Police records, as well as those from Barangay Communal, confirm that no reports of a missing person or abduction have been filed in the area,” he said.

“To ensure public safety and prevent unwarranted fear, the Police Station 5 – Buhangin, in coordination with Barangay Communal, will intensify patrols and monitoring in the area,” Marantan said. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)