Palace warning to media: Don’t report fake news

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella —MALACAÑANG PHOTO

The Office of the President on Saturday urged the media not to report fake and unsubstantiated news on the escalating situation in Marawi City and asked the public to keep calm amid the proliferation of “alarmist and untrue reports.”

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella made the call following reports that the Lanao del Sur Electric Cooperative (Lasureco) had been attacked by Maute militants who had been laying siege to Marawi City over the past few days.

Power has been restored to 95 percent of Marawi City after the government, through its Inter-Agency Task Force on Securing Energy Facilities, secured the compound, Abella said in a statement.

“This development should allay fears stirred by alarmist and untrue reports of Lasureco coming under attack,” he said.

“Given the gravity of the situation in Marawi City, we urge the public to remain calm and not to spread unverified or incomplete news items, even as we urge media practitioners not to report such items that can easily be misinterpreted or sensationalized,” he said.