Año to PNP: Arrest people behind fake news on nCoV

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año has ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to arrest persons responsible for spreading fake news on various social media platforms about the novel coronavirus (nCoV).

"We will go after the perpetrators of false information on coronavirus because their acts are inimical to the interest of the general public,” Año said in a statement Tuesday.

"Let's not propagate erroneous information that is more viral than the virus itself. We already have enough on our plate. Hindi po sila nakakatulong sa paglutas ng ating problema bagkus mas pinapalala pa nila ang problema."

Año issued the directive after the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) was used by some unscrupulous netizens in spreading fake news.

An infographic claiming to be coming from the DILG spread on Friday alleging that the department has decided to place on mandatory quarantine all travelers from 23 nCoV- afftected countries.

“The unauthorized and patently illegal infographic went viral and caused panic among travelers who wanted to cancel their travel plans because of the misrepresentation of these people, ” said DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya.

"Again, we urge the public to trust only official sources of information and to verify first before sharing. Think first before you click,” he added.

The PNP's Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) is currently verifying six suspected fake news posts on the coronavirus on social media and tracing the whereabouts of the perpetrators, according to Malaya.

"We expect arrests to be made soon," he added.

Violators may face imprisonment of one to six months and a fine ranging from P40, 000 to P200,000 under the "Unlawful Use of Means of Publication and Unlawful Utterances” of the Revised Penal Code punishes perpetrators of fake news, Malaya said.

They could also be punished under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and the Presidential Decree No. 90 or the Declaring Unlawful Rumor-Mongering and Spreading False Information.

“Paalala lang sa mga nagpapakalat ng mga maling balita na tigil-tigilan na ninyo iyan at makiisa na lang sa pamahalaan sa pagsugpo at pagresolba ng suliraning ito,” Malaya said. —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA News