ILOILO City – The provincial government of Guimaras on Tuesday debunked false posts on social media claiming the island province is under haze alert supposedly due to forest fires in Indonesia.
In its Facebook page, the provincial government advised the public to remain vigilant against unofficial information coming from unverified sources.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau has not issued any advisory placing Guimaras under haze alert, it added.
Panay News discovered that these haze alerts were from last year’s Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s (PAGASA) bulletin.
This haze bulletin was then shared online on various social media sites, thus misleading people into thinking that the information was posted recently.
Here are some parts of the false information people should stop spreading:
“Haze coming from the forest fires of Indonesia pushed by Habagat is currently affecting portions of Mimaropa, Bicol Reg., Visayas, and Mindanao. The Prov. of Guimaras and the whole Western Visayas is under haze alert.”
“Everyone is advised to wear mask or eye goggles when going outside due to the ill effects of haze like cough, asthma or other health problems.”/PN
