The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said it will file a case against a Davao-based vlogger who falsely claimed that police would raid the residence of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
PNP chief Gen. Romel Marbil confirmed that the individual has been identified.
“Pina-freeze natin ang evidence. I don’t want to name the person, but we’ll be filing a case doon sa isang tao na nagkalat na [we will raid] ‘yung bahay [of Duterte],” Marbil said during a press conference at Camp Crame.
The claim, which quickly spread online, has been debunked by the PNP, which recently formed the Joint Anti-Fake News Action Committee (JAFNAC) to combat the spread of disinformation.
The committee, launched on May 2, is headed by PNP Deputy for Operations Lt. Gen. Robert Rodriguez and works closely with the Anti-Cybercrime Group to investigate and hold accountable those behind malicious online content.
JAFNAC includes various government agencies and offices such as the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Armed Forces of the Philippines, National Bureau of Investigation, Presidential Communications Office, Philippine Information Agency, Department of Information and Communication Technology, National Youth Commission, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, and the PNP Press Corps.
