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DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 12 Feb) — The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) reminds social media users here anew to be “more aware and responsible” in posting incidents in social media, following a clarification by the acting city director, Col. Hansel Marantan, on a post about supposed “hostage-taking” incident that went viral.
Alias “Renz,” who allegedly choked PUJ passenger “Alyza,” and (inset) a screenshot of the video of the choking incident misreported by Facebook user Diocelyn Jabillo as a “hostage-taking” incident. Photo courtesy of DCPOIn a press conference at Royal Mandaya Hotel Wednesday morning, DCPO spokesperson Hazel Caballero-Tuazon said that despite their calls to Dabawenyo social media users to minimize posting and sharing unverified information, still, some people are doing it apparently for fun or for engagement.
“We are wasting resources that should have been used to attend to real incidents. So we are kindly asking everyone to stop sharing unverified information because these fake news tend to get shared a lot,” Tuazon said in the vernacular.
She added there is no problem in posting for awareness in social media, as long as they are true, verified, and not manufactured.
Tuazon, however, said that based on their observation, the volume of “fake” information being shared has declined recently.
In a now deleted post, Facebook user Diocelyn Jabillo posted a video Tuesday morning an alleged “hostage-taking” incident, which was immediately shared by several Facebook users as well.
The post showed a man wearing a green shirt (which police identified as “Renz”) visibly choking a woman, identified as “Alyza,” 19-year-old encoder and Bago Aplaya resident.
Baliok Police Station’s spot report stated that according to “Alyza,” she was choked instantly by “Renz” after the latter boarded the jeep in front of Enrico Nograles National High School in Barangay Bago Aplaya.
The DCPO’s Investigation Section is set to file charges against “Renz” for physical injury and grave coercion, a violations under Article 286 of the Revised Penal Code.
But the Facebook poster, Jabillo, labelled it as a “hostage-taking” incident.
“[T]here was no hostage situation. The suspect, identified as alias Renz, boarded the jeepney and choked the victim without any apparent reason,” Marantan clarified in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.
“Jumping to conclusions without proper investigation can lead to unnecessary panic and confusion. Let the police conduct a thorough investigation to establish the facts,” the police chief stressed.
Tuazon said they are willing to file cybercrime cases against Facebook users spreading unverified reports, such as the recent “unverified” kidnapping incidents in the city.
On Feb. 3, the Facebook page “know my name leng,” created only on January 25, posted a claim about a supposed kidnapping attempt on Bolton Street, near City Hall: that two children were almost abducted but were saved when someone intervened.
Tuazon said those liable persons might be filed charges under Republic Act 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012), which penalizes the spread of false information and may face imprisonment of up to six months.
The police also debunked other viral kidnapping reports, including alleged incidents in Barangay Buhangin and a claim that a black van had abducted a woman, both posted on Feb. 2.
Marantan earlier confirmed that no reports of missing persons or abductions had been filed in these areas. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
