MANILA, Philippines — Police investigators are conducting case build-up operation on the recent fake report of the alleged raid of medical supplies in The Medical City, the leadership of Philippine National Police (PNP) said Thursday.
“Case build-up operations are underway against the authors of the most recent fake news item on Facebook that reported the alleged police raid at The Medical City where some pieces of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) were allegedly confiscated,” PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa said in a statement.
Earlier, the hospital management belied reports of the raids.
So far, the nation’s police force unveiled 20 incidents of fake news since the start of the enhanced community quarantine on March 17, Gamboa said.
Police also arrested five alleged masterminds of fake news about the coronavirus disease outbreak which caused panic, the PNP chief added.
Suspects are facing charges for violation of Unlawful Use of Means of Publication and Unlawful Utterances under Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code as Amended in relation to Sec 4c4 (Online Libel) and Section 6 of Republic Act No. 10175, or the Anti-Cybercrime Law.
Gamboa also reminded the public not to share reports on social media without validation from the government.
“Fake news deserve to be ignored and not passed on to others. When still in doubt, the most prudent thing to do is to validate the information thru official government sources,” the PNP chief said.