MANILA – Five individuals have been charged for supposedly peddling fake news during the COVID-19 pandemic, Malacañang said Monday, warning that the government is serious in going after people behind disinformation.
Citing information from the Philippine National Police (PNP), Roque said five persons were charged for “unlawful use of publication and unlawful utterances” under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and for “declaring unlawful rumor-mongering and spreading false information” under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
“Well, according to DIDM po ‘no, Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management ng PNP, today po limang kaso laban sa limang tao ang naisampa,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press briefing when asked if anyone has been charged for spreading fake news during the pandemic.
“So iyong mga nagpapakalat po ng fake news, asahan ninyo po, mahahanap po kayo, sasampahan kayo noong kaso, ikukulong kayo,” he warned.
Roque earlier blamed fake news as the reason behind the crowding of people in vaccination sites last week, insisting it was not President Rodrigo Duterte’s warning against unvaccinated persons that led to the exodus.
The Palace official had also dispelled false information that the government would disallow unvaccinated persons from going out and exclude them from the cash aid during the implementation of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).(©Philippine Daily Inquirer 2021)
