ILOILO City – Monsignor Meliton Oso, director of the Archdiocese of Jaro’s Archdiocesan Social Action Center, is a victim of a fake Facebook account.
One of the most vocal priests in the archdiocese speaking out against, among others, the drug war, extrajudicial killings and most recently the controversial Anti-Terrorism Law, he warned parishioners not to be duped into believing that the Facebook account bearing his name was his.
In a recent Mass at the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral, Oso revealed that his staff called his attention to a Facebook account bearing his name.
“I also have friends outside the country saying they were happy because now I have a Facebook account,” said Oso.
But the maverick priest clarified, “Si Dodong Oso wala Facebook. Ang langas-langas ko lang pirme, akon lang face ang ginabokbok.”
He warned people against engaging with the fake Facebook account.
“Indi ina akon, so ‘unfriend’ (that fake Facebook account) kun pwede pa lang. Or ‘friend’ him at your own peril,” Oso warned the public.
“Wala ta kabalo kon ano ina iya himuon. Please, wala ako Facebook. Salamat gid,” reiterated Oso.
There has been an explosion of fake Facebook accounts in recent days, and according to those who have been victimized, the targets appear to be those speaking out against the Anti-Terrorism Bill and critics of the Duterte administration, many of whom are students such as those from the University of the Philippines, and alumni of the premier state university. They view this as a scare tactic to silence critics.
The Department of Justice announced it would be investigating this sudden surge of bogus accounts on social media platform Facebook.
Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he would direct the agency’s cybercrime office to coordinate with the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police to “promptly investigate” the spike in fake profiles.
“This gives me cause for worry. We don’t need false information at a time when we’re dealing with a serious public health crisis,” said Guevarra.
Identity theft is a crime punishable under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012./PN
