Residents of the towns of Tolosa, Tanauan and other municipalities in Leyte are gripped with fear following the spread of a bizarre news in social media, in markets and barber shops, and in many places where people congregate.
There have lately been allegations that bad elements and killers are roaming around at night, knocking at houses with an intent to cause harm to residents.
The Police Regional Office 8 (PRO8) has finally put a stop over these rumors and confirmed that these are fake.
PRO 8 said that the photos used in the posts claiming to identify the "prowlers" were merely recycled and have been used in 2018. These photos are also being circulated in other parts of the country and in Indonesia, the police said.
Opinyon 8 researchers found over four posts in Leyte's first district claiming to have seen the same people around the vicinity of their homes pretending to be selling candles and even merchants buying broken jewelries.
However, none of these claims had been confirmed or backed with actual photos of the said "suspects".
“Pinapaalalahanan ang publiko na huwag po agad na maniniwala sa mga nababasa o nakikitang posts online. Iwasang din po natin ang magpakalat ng mga contents na makakapagdulot ng pangamba at takot lalo na kung hindi naman kumpirmado ang mga impormasyon at hindi nagmula sa mga otoridad. Maari po nating isailalim ang mga nasabing posts sa fact-checking o i-report ang mismong posts na nagpapakalat ng fake news. Kung may ganitong makita online ay agad na ilapit sa PNP upang maimbestigahan at maaksyunan,” PRO8 said in a statement.
“Tandaan na ang pagpapakalat ng fake news ay paglabag sa “Unlawful Use of Means of Publication and Unlawful Utterances” sa ilalim ng Art. 154 ng Revised Penal Code in relation to Sec. 4c4 (Online Libel) at Sec. 6 ng RA No. 10175 o “Anti-Cybercrime Law,” the police office said.
#WeTakeAStand #OpinYon